The Pink Door
by ellafaye
Summary: Edward and Bella are both musicians who meet one night in a club in Seattle. The chemistry is instantaneous and all consuming. Is their passion for their music and for each other enough to overcome all obstacles? AU/AH Cannon Pairings. M for adult themes and language.
1. Chapter 1 Stick Around

CHAPTER ONE

STICK AROUND

* * *

-EDWARD-

* * *

My fingers danced across the surface of my piano, not actually pressing on any of the keys, but ghosting over them, the melody playing in my head. I shut my eyes, feeling the music wrap around me, and I smiled. It was song waiting to be written and I was getting lost in it.

"Edward? Honey?"

My eyes snapped open and I looked down at my phone that lay on top of my piano. My mom's voice was clear and loud on speaker and I pulled my hands away from the keys.

"Edward are you there? Can you hear me?" She asked. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Yeah mom sorry." I said grabbing a piece of paper and trying to write the melody that had just been playing in my head. Mom sighed.

"Honey are you at the piano again? I thought we talked about this. Don't sit there while I'm on the phone with you. You always zone out when you sit at that thing." She said, interrupting the flow of my thoughts. I groaned, throwing the pen down. It was no use. I'd have to play it to remember it. "Edward?"

"Yeah mom I'm here." I said aggravated. She sighed.

"How is unpacking coming? Have you settled in yet?" She asked, and I could just imagine her soft blue eyes full of concern. I looked around my apartment. Boxes covered every available surface. The only thing that had been "unpacked" was my piano. To be honest, it was really the only thing I cared about.

"I'm getting there." I grumbled.

"Well Honey, will you be moved in by the end of the month? I know you need time to adjust, but your father and I were thinking of coming to visit you. Wouldn't that be nice?" She encouraged. I stood from the piano and waded through the boxes and boxes of things I had yet to touch. I made my way to the kitchen and yanked a beer from the fridge.

"That's fine mom." I said ripping the cap off.

"Good. I'll email you some dates. You just let me know when you are free. Oh and your sister called. She doesn't even have your phone number. Didn't you give it to her when you changed it six months ago?" Her words flooded me with guilt. I had in fact not given it to my sister. I'd not given it to my brother either for that matter, but that's because I barely talked to my siblings anymore. Sure we were on good terms, but between blossoming careers and moves across the country, we hadn't really gotten to spend much time chatting lately.

"I'll call Rose." I promised.

"And Jasper. I know he's still busy in Texas, but I think it would be great if he could hear from you." She urged. I sighed.

"Of course mom." I said trying to placate her. It seemed to work because she let the subject drop.

"So how are you Honey? Have you made any friends yet?"

Her needless worrying was starting to irk me. I loved my mom, I really did, but her constant fretting about me was what had initially spurred this move across the country to Seattle. Somehow she'd made Chicago feel too small for me anymore. Of course as soon as I had formulated any semblance of a plan, it stop becoming about getting away from my mom and started becoming about chasing a future I desperately wanted.

Since I could remember, I wanted to be a musician. Music was my passion, and I found no greater joy than when I was sitting at my piano composing. My mom had tried to reason with me, saying Seattle was not a city to go to to pursue a career in music, but my dad had stepped in saying that any major city would probably offer the same amount of luck as any other. I was grateful for the back up, even if he wasn't exactly true.

But Seattle did have a rather healthy music scene. It wasn't massive and commercial like in LA and New York, and it wasn't country like Nashville, it was unique and I knew that the type of music I did would have the best chance of thriving in Seattle.

So I had picked up and moved, without knowing anyone or having a definite plan. It was the most terrifying and exhilarating decision of my life.

"Edward? Honey did you sit back down at your piano?" My mom's voice reminded me she was still on the phone and I blinked, realizing I had indeed sat back down at my piano. I shook my head with a small smirk and reached for my beer that was resting on a box nearby.

"Sorry mom." I mumbled. She sighed.

"I miss you Honey." She whispered. Another pang of guilt stabbed me and I was glad she couldn't see me. I'm sure the guilt was written all over my face.

"I miss you too mom." I whispered. Between my older brother Jasper teaching in Texas and my older sister Rose pursuing a rather impressive modeling career around the world, my mom had been desperate to keep her last child in arms reach. I knew it was hard on her, me leaving, but I couldn't let that hold back my life. "Hey mom, I've gotta go. I'll talk to you later." I said running a hand through my hair.

"Okay Honey. Take care. I love you!"

I smiled sadly. "I love you too mom. Say hi to dad for me."

She promised she would and I hung up sighing. I turned to my piano and shut my eyes as my fingers found the keys. The melody I'd worried I lost came right back to me as my hands danced, weaving a song I instantly loved but couldn't put words to. I sighed, letting the song play over and over and over, willing words to accompany it, but no such luck.

I gave up a half hour later and finished off my beer, frustrated. Turning to my living room of boxes I groaned and ran a hand through my hair again. Deciding I could put it off until tomorrow, I grabbed my coat and headed out the door.

Seattle was beautiful. Though it was a city, it was incredibly peaceful and welcomed me with open arms. Nothing like Chicago.

Plus, Seattle smelled amazing. The fresh salty air from Puget Sound mixed in with the clean rain air and the fresh evergreens that edged the city. I felt like I could actually breathe in this city.

My apartment was in an amazing area, smack dab in the middle of down town, which gave me amazing access to the city. I had a car that I'd driven out here, but so far I had found little use for it. I was perfectly content walking around.

I ventured down hill towards the water where tourists were still lingering after a day out. It was dusky twilight, no where near late enough for any good clubs to be playing music yet, so I wandered.

I walked down Pine Street until I hit 4th Avenue and turned right. Street performers were out dancing and singing, holding out hats or buckets for lose change. I smiled as I watched them. Some of them were quite good, while others left something to be desired.

Eventually I turned down toward the water again until I came upon a tiny street just above Pike Place. The cobbled street was small but filled with tons of shops that were starting to close down for the night and I made a mental note to come back in the daytime when everything was open.

I was about to continue on my way when I heard it; soft music coming from somewhere along the alley. Frowning, I turned and headed down the small street. I think I paced the length of the shops ten times, frustrated that I couldn't find the club the music was coming from, when a couple, dressed up and giggling with each other, ventured down the alley. I watched them curiously as they approached a pink, unmarked door and knocked twice. The door opened and the music I had heard sounded clearer. Desperate to know where it was coming from, I followed after them.

I stepped into the room and my eyes swept over the impressive interior. It was a double story room, and I had to take a set of stairs to get down to the main floor. The walls were a deep orange colour and covered completely in a random collection of artwork and mirrors. The tables were small and intimate and all faced a small stage that had a piano sitting on it. Currently there was a man playing his guitar while people watched on, entranced. I made my way to the back of the room where the bar was nestled into the décor seamlessly.

"Do you have a reservation?" The bar tender asked as soon as I approached. He was a huge guy, dark and intense with tattoos that covered is arms and part of his chest. He looked incredibly intimidating, until you looked at his eyes. His eyes contradicted everything else about him. His eyes were playful and young.

I shook my head at his question.

"No, I just came in, is that alright?" I asked glancing back up at the man on the stage. The bar tender nodded.

"So long as you don't plan on ordering food. The tables are all reserved." He explained. I nodded and settled in at the bar.

"Can I get a drink then?" I asked. He nodded. "Whiskey?"

"You new in town?" He asked. I nodded and he smirked pulling down a glass and pouring the drink in. "On the house, welcome to Seattle." He said sliding it over to me. I smiled.

"Thanks." I said gripping the glass.

"I'm Jake." He said nodding.

"Edward." I replied.

"What are you doing in Seattle Edward?" He asked as he started make drinks for a waitress who had stumbled by.

"New start." I said quietly. Jake nodded.

"I hear that." He said smirking. "What do you do?"

"I'm a musician." I said glancing back up at the stage where the man was finishing his song. The restaurant, or was it a club, erupted into applause and he grinned, tipping his hat to everyone.

"Yeah? You should play for us." Jake said nodding to the stage. I frowned at him and he continued to explain. "Thursday's are open mic night."

I turned back to the stage and saw the man standing, putting his guitar away. I turned back to Jake who was handing the waitress the drinks. She smiled at him then flitted away to serve them. He turned back to me.

"What do you play?" He asked.

"Piano mostly." I said shrugging. He smiled.

"You should really play for us then. Victoria, the owner, she loves the piano and there aren't enough people who play well. If you are any good she may even ask you to come back for gigs." He supplied. I stared at him in surprise.

"Really?"

Not ten minutes in this place and I was already getting job offers? I tried to quell the growing excitement in me. He nodded.

"Yeah, I mean you have to be good," He said smirking. "But give it a shot. What have you got to lose?"

I turned back to the stage where people were moving around on it, setting someone else up.

"How late do you guys accept musicians?" I asked turning to him. He smiled.

"Tonight we're full up, but come back next Thursday and I guarantee you've got a spot." He promised. I smiled at him.

"Thanks, that'd actually be really great." I said honestly. He nodded and looked up past me and grinned.

"Oh man, here comes the best part of my night." He whispered. I turned around and felt my breath catch in my throat. The woman that was weaving through the club was small with long brown hair that came nearly down to her waist. She was wearing black jeans and a delicate purple blouse that hinted at some glorious curves beneath. She stopped to say hi to people as she walked, but eventually continued toward the bar.

"Jake!" She said smiling at the bar tender. I felt myself become instantly jealous. What I wouldn't give for her to smile like that at me.

"Hey Bells. You look great." He said pouring her a drink and sliding it over to her. She came up to the bar and grinned.

"Thanks. Great crowd tonight." She said picking up the drink and looking back at the club. Jake nodded.

"You up next?" He asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I should be getting ready." She said smirking. Jake nodded and turned to me.

"Stick around to hear Bella. She's the best performer we've ever had." He said earnestly. I hadn't taken my eyes off of her and she finally turned to look at me. Her eyes were a beautiful chocolate brown and she licked her full lips as she sized me up. My pants were suddenly uncomfortably tight and I shifted to try to relieve some of the pressure. God she was gorgeous. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before." She said giving me a sexy smile. She slid onto the stool next to me and I smiled at her.

"This is my first time here." I admitted. She grinned.

"Well what do you think?" She asked leaning in to hear my answer.

"Well so far, I like what I'm seeing." I whispered back. She blushed and looked down at her drink. She was such a contradiction. Sexy and confident one moment, blushing the next. It was so fascinating.

"Edward here is a musician." Jake said leaning on the bar and nodding to me. She looked up at me and smiled the most radiant smile I'd ever seen. That smile could have knocked me on my ass.

"Really? What do you play?" She asked excitedly. I smiled.

"Piano is my instrument of choice, though I have been messing with the guitar for the past few years." I admitted. She beamed.

"You should come play one night!" She said excitedly.

"That's what I told him. I told him about Victoria." Jake said smirking. Bella smiled at me.

"Oh gosh yeah! If she likes your music you may have a pretty sweet gig here." She said nodding. "I've been playing here for the past seven, eight months now and I love it." She said grinning. I wanted to kiss her, more than I had ever wanted anything.

"So are you preforming tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah, in fact I'm about to go on." She said knocking back the rest of her drink. She stood and fixed her blouse before giving me a sexy smile again. "Stick around. I'll play you something special." She whispered. I felt like my body caught fire with her words and I nodded, unable to form coherent sentences. She was amazing. She grinned and sent Jake a thanks before disappearing toward the stage. I looked back at Jake who smirked at me.

"You lucky bastard." He said shaking his head and chuckling. "I've been trying to get her to look at me like that for months now. Girl is hella picky." His words made me prickle in instant jealousy. On one hand I was glad she'd never looked at him like she had just looked at me, but on the other I was pissed to know that he had tried to get her to. I'd known her five minutes and already I felt possessive of her. I was clearly going crazy.

Before I could respond, Bella's honey voice was speaking out into the sound system. I turned around and saw her coming on stage, holding a black guitar that seemed to dwarf her. She settled down on a stool and positioned the microphone in front of her so that it would capture her voice. She looked up at the crowd and her big brown eyes captivated me.

"Hey guys." She said smiling. A few people cheered and whistled and a beautiful blush spread over her cheeks. "I'm going to start off with an oldie. I'm sure some of you guys know it by now since I seem to play it every week." She joked and a people laughed, most of the club smiling up at her. I couldn't pry my eyes away from her. "Alright here it goes."

She pulled at the strings on her guitar before smiling. The song was up beat, despite the sadness on her face. She opened her mouth and started singing and I felt my heart stop. She was perfection, absolute perfection.

Every song she sang was better than the last and I felt myself falling for her before I could convince myself to slow the hell down.

She started to wind up her set and then looked at me, her brown eyes piercing right through me.

"This last song is for someone I just met. Here's to hoping for something more." She purred. I felt myself shift in my seat again. She had transformed into pure sex and her piercing gaze stayed on me as she sang.

"Baby, you've caught my eye,

I think I might need you to stay awhile

For I haven't seen a smile

Quite as lovely as yours for awhile

Stick around,

I'll be good to you

Baby, I think you know

When I get my arms around you,

boy, I won't let go

When you find a spark to awaken your precious heart

You stick around and you'll see it through

I've been in trouble before with my pressured ember

I'm willing to take that chance again

And if we get caught in some crazy wind

We can just get swept away, what do you say?

Baby, make up your mind,

'cause you know I don't wanna waste time

We don't have a lot to lose,

boy, decide to choose

Stick around,

I'll be good to you

Yeah, stick around,

I'll be good to you."

She wrapped up the song and people exploded into cheers. She blinked and looked away from me, smiling at everyone else in the room. She thanked them all and thanked Victoria before climbing off the stage. I kept my eyes on her as she walked across the club in my direction.

"You stayed." She said as soon as she was close enough. I smiled.

"I had some pretty good incentive." I said giving her a heated look back. She shifted under my gaze. "Can I get you a drink?" I asked. She slid into the seat next to me and her knees brushed mine.

"Yeah you can." She said giving me a small sexy smile. I smiled back at her and ordered a couple drinks from Jake. "You were incredible." I said turning back to her. Her big brown eyes stared at me a long moment before she blushed and smiled shyly.

"Thanks." She whispered. There she went again, confident to timid in a second flat.

"So Bella. Are you from Seattle?" I asked sipping my drink. She smiled softly.

"Not really. My mom and dad live about four hours from here in this middle of nowhere town. I lived there my whole life before I moved to Seattle for school. I've been here ever since." She said smiling. "What about you?"

"I just moved here from Chicago." I explained. Her eyes lit up.

"I've always wanted to go to Chicago. I've heard it's an amazing city." She enthused. I shrugged.

"I guess it is. I'm actually rather enjoying Seattle." I admitted giving her a pointed look. She smiled and looked down at her drink as a blush ran across her cheeks.

"So how long have you been playing Edward?" She asked looking back up at me.

"Since I was four." I told her quietly. Her chocolate eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?" She asked. I nodded.

"I was so rambunctious as a kid. The only thing that calmed me down was playing the piano. My mom thanks God for it every day. She says that I would have killed her from exhaustion if we hadn't found the outlet in music." I admitted. Bella giggled and it was the sexiest sound I'd ever heard. "What about you?" I asked.

"I started playing the guitar when I was 16 and the cello when I was 7." She said softly. "My mom wanted me to get into so many activities when I was young and music was the only thing that stuck." She said laughing. "I've been obsessed with it since I can remember." She said smiling to herself. I grinned.

"I'm the same way." I told her. She looked up at me and blushed. I was starting to really love that blush.

We sat at the bar and talked for hours, sometimes stopping to listen to the other performers, sometimes ignoring everyone around us. Bella was amazing. She was smart and funny and quick-witted and so sexy it was driving me nuts. I could already tell, after just one night that I would never be able to get enough of her.

"Hey," She whispered looking around the club. To my surprise, it was nearly empty, save for a few employees and us. "Come on." She said standing and taking my hand in hers. Her skin was soft and warm and when she touched me I felt like I had caught fire. It took all my self-control not to pull her to me and kiss her senseless.

She dragged me up on the small stage and sat me down at the piano grinning. "Play me something." She requested. I smiled.

"Like what?" I asked. She shrugged.

"Something you're working on." She suggested. I smiled. That was easy enough. My hands settled on the keys, and giving her a small smile, I started playing the melody I'd been thinking about all afternoon. Bella's eyes widened slightly as I played and she stood there, watching me for a moment before running and grabbing her guitar. Settling the stool next to the piano, she started plucking out chords, a frown etched on her forehead. She shook her head a few times before she found chords she liked and started playing them.

The sounds of our instruments wrapped together flawlessly. Adrenaline rushed through me, as we continued to mold the song perfectly. It may have been the best damn song I'd ever written.

When we finished, Bella's eyes were wide as she stared at me.

"Do you need to write it down?" I asked quietly. She shook her head.

"I have perfect recall when I'm playing the guitar. Can barely remember my own birthday, but when it comes to music…" She trailed of and smiled at me. I grinned. "You?" She asked. I shook my head.

"It's stuck up here." I whispered, tapping my head.

"Edward that was," She paused, her brown eyes wide.

"I know." I whispered. We stared at each other a long moment before a woman's voice called our attention. Bella and I looked beyond the stage toward the bar where a woman was sitting with flaming red hair and a huge grin.

"Bella, who've you got there?" She called. Bella grinned and stood from her stool, carefully putting her guitar down and grabbing my hand.

"Come on." She whispered excitedly. I shivered at the contact and let her lead me off the stage to where the woman sat. She looked to be in her late thirties, with a mess of red hair and bright blue eyes. "Victoria this is Edward. Edward, Victoria owns the Pink Door." Bella explained. I smiled at her and turned to Victoria, holding out my hand.

"It's nice to meet you." I said quietly. She nodded, shaking my hand.

"You're quite a skilled musician." She noted, nodding for us to sit with her.

"Thank you." I said settling down.

"How long have you guys known each other?" She asked Bella. Bella grinned.

"A few hours. Edward is new in town." Bella said grinning at me. I still couldn't get over the song we'd just made. I felt like I was high, the music shooting through my veins and making me happier than any narcotic could.

"A few hours?" Victoria asked surprised. We both nodded. "Jesus, listening to you two playing, I would have said years." She whispered quietly. Bella blushed but sent me a small smile. "Edward what do you do for a living?" Victoria asked looking at me.

"I'm not employed currently. I just got into town a few days ago." I admitted. Victoria nodded looking at Bella and frowning.

"How would you like a job?" She asked quietly. I stared at her in surprise.

"Really?"

"I need some steady entertainment. People come here to hear music and my act just quit. I'm looking for a new one and I think you two would be perfect." She said pointing to us. I looked at Bella who's grin widened if that was even possible. "It wouldn't be too much pay, but you get tips and you're free to sell any merch you want. It'd be 5 days a week, including weekends and you'd get a meal free during every shift." She offered.

It was a generous offer. Way more generous than I had ever expected an offer to be. I looked at Bella who was watching me with wide eyes.

"It sounds good to me." I said shrugging. Bella smiled.

"Yeah me too." She whispered.

"Great!" Victoria said clapping her hands. My gaze shifted from Bella back to Victoria who was leaning forward and smiling. "You guys can start next Monday. That should give you a few days to get some songs together." She said standing. I stood and held out my hand.

"Thanks so much for the opportunity." I said sincerely. She smiled and shook my head.

"Are you kidding me? I'm the lucky one. You guys have real chemistry and that song you just played?" She shook her head as if she were overwhelmed. "There are no words. You guys are going to be big, and when you are, you can credit me and the Pink Door for bringing you together." She said winking at us. I smirked.

"Sounds good to me."

**AN:**

**Song is Stick Around by Rachael Yamagata. Link on my profile. :)  
**


	2. Chapter 2 The Girl With The Red Balloon

CHAPTER TWO

GIRL WITH THE RED BALLOON

* * *

-BELLA-

I couldn't help the exceptional smile that was plastered all over my face as I made my way towards Pioneer's Square the next morning. After talking for hours then playing that amazing song together and Victoria's job offer, Edward, who was by far the most gorgeous man I'd ever laid eyes on, had walked me home as we discussed the idea of starting a band together. I was quite pleased that we were both as eager to join musical forces.

We'd exchanged phone numbers, and with a promise to meet up the following afternoon, had parted ways. I hadn't stopped smiling since.

I spotted the small café that was my destination and practically skipped over to it. It was a beautiful sunny day out and I couldn't help feeling amazing.

Alice was sitting on the patio; her black designer glasses perched on her nose as she spoke with Emmett. I grinned at both of them as I approached, stopping to kiss them both on the cheeks before I settled into my chair.

"Oh my God." Alice exclaimed whipping off her glasses and staring at me with wide eyes. "You had sex!" She screamed. Heads snapped in our direction and I blushed deep scarlet. Emmett's booming laughter only added to our audience.

"Jesus guys! Volume!" I whispered frantically, shrinking in my chair. "And no I didn't have sex." I said blushing. My best friends eyed me suspiciously.

"Are you sure?" Alice asked eying me. "You're glowing." She accused. I shook my head.

"Trust me, no sex." I mumbled, slightly mortified. Alice stared at me a long moment then nodded.

"Oh, I see it now. Sexual frustration still there. So what_ did_ happen?" She pressed.

"Why did anything need to happen?" I asked shifting in my seat. Alice gave me a pointed glare.

"Maybe she just had a really good sex dream." Emmett offered. Alice seemed to consider this for a moment to my absolute horror.

"Enough sex talk you two." I snapped. "There was no sex, of any kind." I growled. They both grinned and I knew they wouldn't stop until I told them. "I met someone last night at the Pink Door." I admitted. Alice gasped.

"Dammit Em! I knew we should have gone!" She cried hitting his massive arm. He scowled at her.

"Don't blame me Ali. You're the one who insisted I take you with me to the hockey game." He grumbled. I rolled my eyes. Alice and I had been channel surfing two weeks ago when we had come across a hockey game. I hadn't thought anything of it, but Alice had insisted on watching it. She had explained there was a guy at her work who she was totally crushing on, but his interests were limited. Alice didn't usually go out of her way to learn something new for a guy, so it had surprised me when she had insisted on learning about hockey. After she had asked me several questions, to which I had no answers since I knew nothing about hockey, Alice had given up on me and called Emmett and demanded he take her to a game and teach her everything there was to know about the sport.

Emmett, who had tried to explain that there was no national hockey team in Seattle, had eventually caved and taken her to junior league game after almost two hours of constant badgering from Alice.

They had asked me to come along, but it was on a Thursday night, and there was no way I was going to miss my time at the Pink Door.

I had wanted to be a musician for as long as I could remember. Music had always had such a strong influence on my life and I had grown up with it as a sort of security blanket.

I wasn't incredibly outgoing like Alice or Emmett, but I was working on it and when I sang, the world sort of fell away and it was so easy to just be me. I loved it and wanted to share that with the world. I had never met someone who I had meshed perfectly with in music until last night.

At the thought of Edward, my smile came back, full force. Of course Alice noticed it.

"You're smiling again. Tell me everything there is to know about this man." Alice snapped. I shrugged.

"His name is Edward. He's 23 and he's the most gorgeous man I've ever seen." I gushed. Alice grinned and Emmett scowled.

"Sounds suspicious." He decided. I laughed.

"He's also a musician and we played last night and," I sighed. "Guys it was magic. Absolute magic." I breathed. Alice and Emmett exchanged glances.

"Hear that Ali? They played last night." Emmett's tone was full of double meanings.

"And apparently it was magic." Alice said smirking back at him. Her tone was even worse than his and I scowled at them.

"Okay okay make fun." I grumbled. "But Victoria heard us playing and offered us a job. I'm going to start a band with Edward." I said unable to hide how absolutely thrilled I was about it. Both Alice and Emmett's faces changed from suggestive smirks to actual genuine smiles.

"Bella that's great!" Alice cried reaching over to hug me. I smiled.

"Thanks, I think so too." I said giggling.

"Of course we are going to have to meet this boy to make sure he is up to par." Emmett said sucking in a breath and making himself look even bigger. I giggled.

"Of course Em." I said reaching over and taking his hand in mine. He let out his breath and we all cracked up.

"Seriously though Bells, that's great news." He said giving me a dimpled smile. I grinned back at him.

We ordered breakfast and talked easily. I loved both Alice and Emmett as if they were my own siblings. I'd known Emmett since we were in diapers, and when I had decided to move to Seattle, he had too. At first I was worried he was making the move to protect me, which I refused to let him do, but as soon as we got here, I realized he was just as desperate for city as I was. I'd met Alice my first year of college and we'd hit it off right away. She was fun and energetic and fiercely loyal. She and Emmett, much to my relief, had hit it off as well. The three of us had been inseparable ever since.

After breakfast, we all headed to my apartment to hang out. They were both determined to meet Edward today when he came over to practice.

They lounged around my living room as I ran around them, trying to clean up the place. It wasn't that messy, because I was usually pretty good at keeping it clean, but I still stressed about it.

"Bella calm down. It's just a guy." Emmett said from the sofa, his feet propped up on my coffee table as he sipped a can of coke. I didn't even bother responding to him as I ran back and forth between the living room and kitchen, carrying dishes.

I finished cleaning and with a sigh, plopped down on my sofa between Alice and Em.

"He must be really hot." Alice observed. "I've never seen you clean that fast."

They both burst into laughter, and despite my nervousness, I joined them.

A knock on the front door though snapped me out of my giggles and I sat up, wide eyed.

There was another knock and Alice giggled.

"Go answer it, or I will." She whispered. That was all the motivation I needed and I jumped up, running to the door. Emmett and Alice giggled behind me.

I pulled open the door and all the breath left my body. He was even more gorgeous than I remembered.

"Hi." He said with a small crooked smile. My heart melted.

"Hey, come on in." I said moving over so he could enter my apartment. He nodded and I noticed he was carrying a guitar case. Curious, I followed him inside, barely remembering to shut the door.

"Edward, these are my two best friends. Alice Brandon and Emmett McCarty. Guys, this is Edward." I said introducing them. Alice grinned and jumped up, coming over the shake his hand. He gave her his amazing smile and even she looked dazzled.

"Jesus Bella, you weren't kidding! He is the most gorgeous man I've ever seen too!" Alice exclaimed, much to my absolute horror. Edward smiled awkwardly and Emmett rolled his eyes standing up.

"Women." He muttered reaching out to shake Edward's hand. "How are you Edward? I hear you are going to play music with our Bella." Emmett said, looking as intimidating as possible, which, for Emmett, was pretty damn intimidating.

"If I'm lucky she'll let me try to latch on to her talent. She's absolutely amazing." Edward said with a warm smile. Emmett cracked a little and smiled back.

"That she is." He agreed. I was still beat red from Alice's comment when they all looked at me and I turned even redder.

"Uh yeah, so Ali I'll see you later okay?" I said fumbling to get her and Em out of the apartment. She rolled her eyes at me and pulled me into a hug.

"Yeah yeah I get it." She whispered with a small smile. "Have fun." She hissed by my ear, making me blush even more.

"Alright Bells. You're still coming tonight right?" Emmett asked pulling me into a hug. I smiled and glanced at Edward. Emmett turned and smiled at him. "You're welcome to come too." Em offered. "Every Friday we meet down at this bar called Carmen's. It's pretty cool, not too many people know about it." Emmett explained. Edward looked at me and I blushed under the gaze of his green eyes.

"Yeah I'll be there." He said looking back at Emmett.

"Great! Alright I'll see you kids tonight." He said reaching down to kiss my cheek. I nodded.

"See you guys later." He called walking out of the apartment with Alice.

I turned to Edward as soon as the door shut and he smiled.

"Hi." I said again, blushing. He smirked.

"Hey."

I bit my lip, suddenly nervous. "Can I get you something to drink?" I asked finally. He laughed.

"Sure."

I scurried to the kitchen. "Coke okay?" I asked.

"Coke is fine." He called from the living room. I grabbed two cans and headed back in. He was sitting on the sofa; pulling out a beautiful guitar from it's case. I admired it as I set the drink in front of him.

"Sorry I don't have a piano." I mumbled.

"No don't worry about it. When I finally get around to moving into my apartment, we can practice there." He offered. I smiled and nodded.

"How come you haven't moved in yet?" I asked softly. He sighed.

"I hate unpacking." He admitted. I laughed.

"Well if you need help, just ask." I offered. He looked surprised.

"Really?"

I nodded. "Sure, unpacking is easy for me. I actually quite enjoy it." I said blushing. He grinned.

"I may just take you up on that." He said softly. I smiled and reached for my own guitar. We sat there a moment, making sure our instruments were tuned before looking at each other.

"I am horrible with lyrics." Edward admitted surprising me. I laughed.

"Well all my lyrics are pretty straight foreword, nothing poetic about them." I told him smiling. He grinned.

"Works for me." He said nodding. I smiled. "Shall we?" He asked strumming a few chords. I nodded.

"Let's."

We played together for hours, melodies colliding into one another in a perfect symphony. I felt like I was floating, I was so entranced with the music.

We finally stopped some time later when we were both starving. Edward looked at me and grinned. We hadn't spoken any lyrics, just had gotten used to playing together. Already I could tell that we were going to make amazing music.

"I'm starving." I said setting my guitar down. Edward nodded in agreement and I glanced at the clock. "Jeez it's already seven?" I said shocked. We'd been playing for six hours, easily.

"Wow." Edward said surprised. "No wonder my fingers feel like they are ready to bleed." He joked. I felt the tips of my own fingers and nodded. They were really tender.

"Well we usually meet up at Carmen's at eight, but it takes me about twenty minutes to get there, should we just head over early? They've got some pretty amazing food there." I said stretching. Edward nodded.

"Yeah that sounds great." He said smiling. I stood.

"Okay great, I'm just going to get changed." I said fingering my t-shirt. He nodded and I slipped away to my bedroom. My cell phone rang and I looked down at it.

"Hey Alice." I said answering the call.

"Bella. Wear that black silk blouse I bought you last week." She demanded. I frowned.

"How did you know I was changing?" I asked surprised. She sighed.

"I assumed you would. Just wear it with dark jeans and those amazing boots I bought you and that leather jacket." She directed. I smirked.

"Anything else boss?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, put on some make up." She insisted. I sighed.

"Ugh, I hate doing that." I complained.

"Just do it Swan. I'll see you tonight and if you haven't followed orders, I'll drag you back to your place and make you change." She threatened. I laughed.

"Alright alright, keep your pants on Brandon. I'm on it. See you in a few." I said grinning.

"See ya!" She sang before we hung up. I turned to my closet and couldn't help my small laugh. I didn't think Alice was particularly crazy about fashion, no more than most girls anyway, but it wasn't my priority at all and so I usually didn't consider it. It drove Alice mad.

I dressed as she instructed, even adding a little eyeliner and mascara. I had to admit, this outfit made me look pretty awesome. Smiling at my reflection once, I headed out to the living room. Edward was there, looking at a photo book that I had left out on the coffee table. I blushed and he looked up at me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry into your life, but I couldn't resist." He said smiling at me. I shrugged.

"It's not prying, look away." I said sitting next to him. He turned the pages carefully and observed each and every photo like it was painting in the Louvre.

"You were a really adorable kid." He said looking up at me. I blushed.

"Yeah I don't know what happened." I joked. He looked at me and his green eyes pierced me, making me shiver.

"I do. You turned into a very beautiful woman." He said softly. There wasn't even a hint of sarcasm in his voice and the way his eyes were staring at me made me blush harder. I ducked my head down, letting my hair become a barrier between us and smiled softly. Edward looked back at the album and continued looking through the photos.

"Is this your brother?" Edward asked pointing to a photo. It was a picture of seven year old me, missing two front teeth and a seven-year-old Emmett who was missing three. We were both holding popsicles and grinning, arms slung around each other.

I laughed. "No, that's Emmett." I said grinning. Edward looked surprised. "I've known him since we were in diapers. We grew up like siblings." I explained.

"And now you're dating?" Edward asked softly. I laughed and shook my head.

"Oh God no. Emmett is for all intents and purposes, my brother. Bleh I could never date him." I said giggling at the very idea of it. Edward seemed relieved. "How about you? Have a girlfriend?" I asked nudging him with my shoulder. He laughed.

"No, most women can't stand the fact that I spend most of my time composing." He said flipping the page and glancing at me. I felt my breath catch. He was going to be the death of me.

"Well those women are idiots. You're an amazing musician. People should know that when the muses call, there is no choice, you have to drop everything and answer." I said passionately. It was the same problem that had interrupted my last relationship. He just, hadn't understood.

Edward stared at me evenly.

"Exactly." He whispered. The combination of his piercing eyes and his softly murmured words made something deep in me clench deliciously. Startled, I looked away from him. I'd never had that reaction to a word, ever.

"We should probably get going." I whispered glancing at the clock. Edward nodded, setting the photo book carefully on the table. We stood up and he grabbed his guitar and jacket before following me out of the apartment.

By the time we got to Carmen's, Emmett and Alice were already there, sitting at our usual booth.

Alice spotted us first and grinned, jumping up to wrap me in a hug. "You look gorgeous, just like I knew you would." She said examining my outfit.

"Thanks Ali." I said laughing. She smiled and slid into to booth again. I sat across from her and Emmett and Edward slid in next to me.

"So how did practice go?" Alice asked with gleaming eyes. I felt a smile overwhelm me.

"Amazing." I said looking at Edward. He smiled at me and I felt my face flush.

"Absolutely amazing." He agreed. Alice watched us with a grin.

"That is so exciting!" She said exclaimed. I smiled at her. "Okay, we need more alcohol. Did you guys eat?" She asked looking at Edward and me. We shook our heads. "Okay and menus. I'll be right back." She said dashing out of the booth and heading to the bar. Emmett watched her in amusement.

"She's been hyper all afternoon." He told us as soon as she was out of earshot. I laughed. "So did you write any new songs?" Emmett asked settling back in his seat and eying us. I shrugged.

"Melodies. Nothing with lyrics." I said looking at Edward.

"Yeah but the melodies were some of the best I've ever heard." He said giving me a crooked smile. My heart stopped then started up again at double pace. _Woah_.

Alice came back with menus and beers and after Edward and I decided on food and placed our order, we sat around talking. Emmett, who was still slightly unsure about Edward, seemed to approve of him as soon as they started talking sports and Alice couldn't stop grinning.

Edward and Alice were in the middle of a conversation about cars and Emmett was at the bar, chatting up a blond. All I could think of was the melody we'd played earlier. It rang in my head, over and over until I started humming it out loud. I didn't realize I was staring at a woman at the bar until she got up to go to the bathroom. She had to be in her mid forties and looked so down, so defeated. When she came back to the bar, inspiration hit and I turned to Edward.

"Get the guitar." I whispered. Needing no further prompting, he pulled it out of its case sitting next to us and pulled it on to his lap. He started playing the song we'd been playing earlier and I started singing the lyrics as they came to me.

"There's a pub on the south side of town  
Time stands still while there's still wine around  
She's the one in the calico  
The one who's always and never alone

Did she let him go?  
Or did the four winds blow him away?  
Does she even know?  
She's the girl with the red balloon

Keep her glass full of cheap champagne  
She will tell of a man with no name  
Smoke and mirrors have done her in  
She's in love and she won't be again

Did she let him go?  
Or did the four winds blow him away?  
Does she even know?  
She's the girl with the red balloon

So lovely  
So lonely  
Floating away  
Did she let him go?  
Or did the four winds blow him away?  
Does she even know?  
Did she let him go?  
Or did the four winds blow him away?  
Does she even know?  
She's the girl  
She's the girl with the red balloon."

As I sang, Edward picked up the lyrics and harmonized with me. His voice was like silk and when our voices came together, it brought tears to my eyes. We finished the song and looked at each other, eyes wide.

"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard." Alice whispered. I tore my eyes away from Edward to look at her. "I thought you guys said that you didn't have any lyrics yet." She said still awed. I shook my head.

"We didn't." I said honestly. Writing a song had never been that easy. Sure some of them came to me pretty quickly, but nothing like that. It was Edward, it had to be him. He was magic, my muse.

"You mean you just made that up?" She gasped. I looked back at her.

"Yeah I guess." I whispered. Edward smiled at me, pulling my attention back to him.

"That was amazing Bella." He said quietly. I smiled.

"I think we're a good fit." I said shyly. His smile just about killed me. It was crooked and perfect and lit up his green eyes. He could have asked me to do anything for him and with that smile, I would have.

"A perfect fit." He whispered back to me.

**Song is The Girl With The Red Balloon by The Civil Wars. Link on my profile.**


	3. Chapter 3 To Whom It May Concern

CHAPTER THREE

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

* * *

-EDWARD-

I woke up before my alarm, which was highly unusual for me. I wasn't traditionally a morning person, but today I had very good reason to be up so early. Today Bella was coming over to help me unpack.

I felt bad about asking her to help wade through all my shit, but as soon as she insisted on helping, I couldn't refuse her. I was rapidly becoming addicted to her, and while it scared me, it also thrilled me. She was amazing. I'd never met anyone like her. When we played together, it was like we were the only two people in the world and we could look at each other as we were. Without pretense, without fear. She saw who I was and I saw her, and what I saw blew me away.

I'd never had feelings like this for anyone, ever and I wasn't really sure what to do with them.

Deciding that I was going to get nowhere pondering this in my head, I jumped out of bed and headed for the shower. Bella would be here within an hour and I couldn't wait.

There was gentle knock on my door and I launched myself across the apartment, desperate to open it. I tripped over two boxes and swore as I pulled open the front door. And there was Bella, a box of donuts and two coffees in her hands, with a brilliant smile on her face.

"You alright?" She giggled. It was the sweetest sound I'd ever heard.

"Uh yeah, just got a little caught up on the boxes." I said grinning back at her and letting her into the apartment. "I'm sorry it's so difficult to navigate still." I mumbled embarrassed. Bella just shrugged lightly.

"Don't worry about it. Want some breakfast?" She asked offering up a coffee. I took the drinks from her giving her a smile and a warm thanks and she followed me into the kitchen. "This is a beautiful apartment." She said looking around. I smiled at her.

"Thanks, I liked the acoustics." I said motioning to the high ceilings. She grinned.

"I wish my apartment had better acoustics. It's horrible." She said putting the donuts on the counter. I hopped up on the counter and she followed my lead, the donuts and coffee between us.

"So what do you think? Can we make any sort of dent in this place?" I asked looking around the apartment as she pulled open the box. She grabbed a donut and looked around.

"I think, Mr. Cullen, you'll be surprised to see how efficient I can be." She teased. I laughed and grabbed a donut.

"I don't doubt that at all Miss Swan."

She grinned at me and munched on her donut.

"So tell me about your family?" I asked sipping my coffee. She shrugged lightly.

"Only child, raised in Forks. My dad's the police chief; my mom's a kindergarten teacher. They split for a few years when I was young but got back together." She said licking her fingers. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her tongue. "How about you?" She asked looking up at me with her large doe eyes. I smiled.

"Youngest of three. My dad's a doctor; mom was a stay at home mom until I was a teenager when she went back to work. Now she's an event coordinator. I have two older siblings, Jasper who is 26 and teaching history in Texas and Rosalie who is 24 and in New York pursuing modeling." I explained finishing off my own donut. Bella grinned.

"I always wanted siblings." She said wistfully. I laughed.

"I love my brother and sister, don't get me wrong, but sometimes," I sighed shaking my head. "They are a lot to live up to. Jazz is brilliant at everything he does. He's well read, intelligent in so many areas, and always remembers all the etiquette my mom taught us as kids. Rose is absolutely stunning, and though she can be a bit stubborn, she's got more charm than anyone should be allowed to have. She's also got the confidence of ten people and can hold her own in any situation staying perfectly poised and under control. Then my parents had me, this spastic red headed kid who couldn't sit still long enough to be told off except when he sat at a piano." I said smirking. "I was constantly playing catch up with Jazz and Rose and finally when I was a teenager, I stopped trying. I knew I'd never be like them and it was driving me insane trying to be. After I made that decision, suddenly I got on a lot better with my siblings." I said laughing. Bella smiled.

"Do you talk to them often?" She asked softly.

"No, I wish I did though. I really miss them." I said quietly.

"I don't know what I would do without Emmett. I mean he's not technically my brother, but we are so close he might as well be. I'd be miserable without him around." She admitted finishing off another donut. I smiled softly at her.

"He's a good guy." I observed. She nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry if he's been coming off as sort of a jerk. He's insanely protective of me, which I've been fighting my whole life." She said smirking. I laughed.

"I promise he's not. I can see how much he cares about you. It's endearing to me." I told her honestly. She looked at me with wide eyes and I suddenly wanted to kiss her. I looked down at my lap before I could make a move to do so. "Should we get to work?" I asked softly. Bella nodded and hopped down off the counter. I led her out to the living room and grimaced at the stacks of boxes. "You sure you're up for this?" I asked looking at her. She smiled at me brilliantly.

"Bring it on Cullen."

We worked for hours, unpacking all the boxes. Fortunately when I had moved, all the boxes were clearly labeled so it was easy to sort out what went where, and in no time, Bella had completely unpacked my kitchen and had moved onto my guest room.

"This room is gorgeous!" She exclaimed looking at the tall ceilings and long windows that made the room seem even grander than it was. I smiled at her.

"It's my guest room." I said quietly. "I don't really have a plan for it. Got any ideas?"

She turned to me, her brown eyes wide with wonder.

"You want me to decorate it?" She asked quietly. I shrugged.

"Yeah why not?"

She smiled then and turned back to the room.

"Oh I could have so much fun with this." She whispered looking around. I smiled.

"I'm going to keep working on the studio." I said quietly. She turned and looked at me.

"The what?" She asked, her delicate eyebrows pulling into a frown. I smiled and motioned for her to follow me. At the end of the hall was a large room that I had dubbed my studio. I had already lined the walls for better acoustics and had rugs down on the hardwood floors. I hadn't set up my music equipment yet, but it would be easy enough to do. Bella stared at the room in amazement.

"You have a music studio in your apartment." She gasped looking around. I smiled.

"Yeah, I couldn't live without one." I admitted sheepishly. She looked at me and shook her head.

"This is amazing." She whispered. I smiled.

"I've even managed to get some recording equipment over the years." I said nodding to the jumble of electronics in the corner. "We could record demos in here." I offered. Here eyes gleamed with the possibilities.

"I can't wait." She told me grinning. I smiled.

"Yeah, me neither."

We finally called it a day around six in the evening. I was surprised at the progress we had made. Almost everything in my apartment was unpacked and put away. There were a few furniture items I needed to buy, but really not much else was needed. It felt like a home, not just a place to crash and I knew that was all thanks to Bella.

She sat down on my sofa, her long brown hair that had slipped from her ponytail, curling around her face beautifully. I sat next to her and smiled.

"Thank you so much for helping me." I said quietly. "I think I may have never unpacked without your help." I admitted. She giggled.

"It's no problem Edward. I enjoyed it." She said smiling up at me. I took a deep breath, trying to calm the hormones that told me to jump her.

"You wanna go get some dinner?" I offered. She smiled at me.

"I don't think I can move. Take out?" She compromised. I laughed.

"That sounds perfect actually."

Bella grinned and pulled out her phone.

"What are you in the mood for?" She asked opening her contacts. I stared at her amazed. She looked at me and blushed. "What? When I was in my first years of school I lived in a dorm and couldn't cook for myself because there wasn't a kitchen. I ate a lot of take out." She mumbled. I just smiled.

"Uh, anything." I said running a hand through my hair.

"Thai food okay?" She asked looking at me. I nodded and she dialed the restaurant. I gave her my order and my address and in moments she was hanging up and grinning. "Twenty minutes." She told me. I smiled.

"Hey I wanted to show you something." I said sitting up. I walked across the room and grabbed my guitar before coming back and sitting next to her. "After that song last night, I got so inspired, I started working out another melody." I admitted. Her eyes sparkled in delight.

"Play it for me?" She asked softly. I nodded and started plucking out the song. It was simple, and easy and as I played, Bella's eyes widened. When I finished, I watched her face, waiting for a response.

"Edward, wait right here." She whispered. She stood up and bolted to the kitchen. It wasn't the response I was expecting, so frowning, I set my guitar down. Bella came back with an old leather journal and sat down, flipping through it furiously.

"What is it?" I asked nervously. She ignored me, biting her full lower lip as she searched the pages.

I wanted to bite that lip.

"Here it is!" She said excitedly, pulling out of my thoughts. I glanced at her guiltily but looked at the page she held out to me in her journal.

"The night we met, I was so inspired. I went home and tried to sleep but my mind was just racing. I wrote down these lyrics that kept repeating themselves in my head. I think they'd go with the melody you just played." She explained. I read through the song.

"Why are you so far from me?  
In my arms is where you ought to be  
How long will you make me wait?  
I don't know much more I can take

I've missed you  
But I haven't met you  
Oh how I want to  
How I do

Slowly counting down the days  
Till I finally know your name  
The way your hand feels round my waist  
The way you laugh, the way your kisses taste

I've missed you  
But I haven't met you  
Oh how I want to  
How I do  
How I do  
I've missed you  
But I haven't met you  
Oh I've missed you  
But I haven't met you  
Oh but I want to  
Oh how I want to

Dear whoever you might be

I'm still waiting patiently."

I looked up at her and tried to reign in my emotions. Those words, those beautiful, beautiful words expressed my exact feelings. How could she know? How could she possibly know that these were the same things I had been thinking only days before when we had met?

"What do you think?" Bella asked nervously, biting her lip.

My eyes fixed on her mouth and I could hear her breathing change. I glanced up at her big brow eyes and she was watching me, hungrily. I leaned in then, watching her to gauge her reaction. When I saw her lean in too, I wasted no time, softly pressing my lips against hers.

She tasted like strawberries and honey and I groaned, needing more.

She was on my lap before I could realize what was happening, her legs straddling my hips. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer to me and tangling my hands in her soft hair. She moaned and I nearly came undone.

This was it. This was the moment I knew for sure that I was in love with Bella Swan and I would do everything I could to keep her in my life.

The knowledge startled me and yet it felt right. It didn't matter that Bella and I had known each other for three days. She knew me; she knew parts of me no one else did. I was in love with her, and I suddenly had a desperate need to show her.

Pulling away from each other, we both gasped and inhaled much needed oxygen. Bella leaned her forehead against mine and her eyes opened slowly, accompanied with the sexiest smile that I'd ever seen.

_God her smile._

"So you liked the lyrics." She whispered. I smirked.

"Yeah, you could say that." I whispered back. She giggled and I nearly groaned. That was the sweetest sound, one I wanted to hear forever.

"You're incredibly talented." I murmured, running my hands through her silky hair. She blushed and I reached up to kiss her cheeks.

"So are you."

"You inspire me Bella." I told her honestly. "You make me want to be a better musician, a better man."

Her doe eyes stared wide-eyed at me and I smiled, kissing her softly.

A knock on the front door startled us both and Bella looked up frowning. She scrambled off my lap and ran to the front door hastily. She opened it and I heard her sweet voice talking to someone.

"Hey Bella. Did you move?" The boy asked. Frowning, I stood and made my way to the door. He was probably 19 with light brown hair and glasses perched on his narrow nose. He looked both intimidated and infatuated with Bella. I couldn't blame him.

Before she could answer him I came up behind her and placed a hand on her waist. To my utter delight, she leaned into my touch.

"Hey babe, how much is it?" I asked pulling out my wallet. She stared at me with wide eyes and the boy blinked at me through his glasses.

"Uh Matt?" She asked looking at him. He fumbled for the recite and handed it to me. I pulled out $40 and handed it over to him, telling him to keep the change as I took our food.

"Uh, thanks!" He said staring at me in surprise. "See you later Bella." He said quietly.

"Bye Matt." She said giving him a small smile. She shut the door and followed me into the living room. I sat down and placed the bags on the coffee table. I looked up at Bella and was surprised to see her glaring at me. She looked kinda pissed and it was damn sexy.

"What's up?" I asked. She snorted incredulously.

"Why did you have to intimidate him like that?" She asked sitting down. I stared at her in surprise.

"Sorry, do you like him?" I asked, hating how the words tasted in my mouth. She rolled her eyes.

"Matt's a good kid. You didn't have to go scaring him like that." She said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry Bella. I didn't mean to scare him." I said confused. I honestly though I had been friendly. Sure maybe pulling Bella to me and calling her babe was a bit possessive, especially since she wasn't mine to do that to. Not yet anyway.

She sighed and leaned back against the sofa.

"You're quite possessive." She said quietly. I looked over at her and gave her a small apologetic smile.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just," I paused, unsure how to word my sentence. "I've never felt like this about anyone. I'm trying to figure it all out, but all I know is that I want you. I need you."

She gasped at my words and I took that as encouragement.

"I'm going to admit I'm a jealous bastard and I can be incredibly territorial, but that's just what I know. I can't change how I am no matter how much I sometimes wish I could." I had no idea why I was telling her all this. She hadn't asked and I knew that I was taking us in a potentially dangerous direction, but I just didn't care. I needed her to know how I felt, because I was quickly learning that one kiss, no matter how amazing that kiss was, was not going to be enough.

Bella sat up, her large brown eyes watching me with a mix of emotions. I stared back at her anxiously, waiting for her to respond to my confession.

Finally she sighed.

"I should warn you I'm territorial also." She whispered and my heart flip-flopped. "I'm irrational and emotional and irrationally emotional." She said smiling softly. "And I've been told that my logic isn't always the world's logic." She said quietly. I smiled at her.

"Doesn't bother me." I whispered.

"Even when I go crazy for no reason?" She asked with wide eyes. I laughed.

"I can't imagine that." I admitted. She glared at me.

"Just you wait, something's going to happen and I'm going to be crazy and you're going to wish you'd never met me." She threatened. I just laughed and pulled her closer to me.

"Never going to happen." I promised her. She seemed surprised.

"I'm scared." She whispered quietly.

"What about?" I asked brushing my hand over her soft cheek.

"What if things don't work out?" She shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

"First of all, don't worry about that. What if things _do_ work between us?" I asked softly. "It's just like any other relationship baby. Some crumble and some last forever." I said softly.

Her eyes filled with unshed tears. "I'm afraid of how much I want you." She admitted in a whisper. I let out a shuddering sigh.

"Yeah, I'm afraid of how much I want you too." I said quietly.

"You inspire me too Edward." She said resting her head against my chest. "I don't want to lose that. I don't want to lose you." She mumbled. I felt my heart flutter at her confession.

"You won't baby. I promise." I said kissing her hair.

We sat there a long moment, neither one speaking, before finally Bella's stomach rumbled. She sat up, embarrassed and I smiled.

"Shall we eat?" I offered. She nodded and reached out to unpack the take out. We settled onto the sofa in a comfortable silence. My mind was still reeling from our conversation. Was that a yes? Did she want this as much as I did?

"Edward?" She asked after a moment. I looked at her and smiled.

"Yeah baby?"

She blushed a little and looked down at her pad thai.

"I feel ridiculous for asking this, but that conversation, where did it land?" She asked looking up at me. I let out a loud laugh.

"I was kinda wondering the same thing." I admitted. She grinned at me. "I'd like to give us a try." I said quietly.

"A new band and a new boyfriend?" She asked looking at me with a small smirk. "That's quite an offer."

I was relieved to hear her teasing tone.

"I don't want to overwhelm you. I've just never been so certain of anything in my life. But I am Bella. I'm certain that this," I moved pulling her closer to me. She snuggled into my side. "This whatever it is between us is worth chasing." I said quietly. She smiled up at me.

"I couldn't agree more." She whispered. I grinned.

"Have dinner with me." I said softly. She laughed and looked down at the plates in our laps.

"Edward, what is this called? "She giggled. I rolled my eyes.

"Tomorrow night. Let me take you out." I asked smiling at her. She beamed up at me.

"Okay."

**Song: To Whom It May Concern - The Civil Wars.**

**Thank you so much to all who are reading. It really means a lot to me!  
**


	4. Chapter 4 Don't Forget To Breathe

**Before I begin, I just wanted to say that I know I'm kind of jumping all over the place here, but this story won't be very long hence the big time gap. Anyway, thank you so much for reading!**

**ALSO this chapter is a little more... mature. Just a heads up!**

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR

DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE

* * *

-BELLA-

Edward was amazing. Over two and a half months had passed since our confessions on his sofa. The next day he had taken me out on our first official date and I had seen first hand how absolutely romantic he could be. It was a simple dinner in one of the nicest restaurants I'd ever been to with soft candle lit tables and a live string quartet playing in the background. After that we'd gone to the top of Queen Ann Hill and star gazed. It had been perfect and the thing I liked most about it, was that I was getting to know Edward. He was like an addiction. I couldn't get enough.

It scared and thrilled me all at once.

That next Monday, we played our first gig at the Pink Door.

To say we got a positive response would be an understatement. After we came off stage people ambushed us, all asking about CDs they could purchase. Since then Edward and I had been working on a demo. It wasn't anything big, but something to sell after our gigs.

Edward had admitted that he was horrible at naming bands, and if it were up to him he'd panic and name us something horrible like the fuzzy bananas. I had laughed and admitted I was horrible at band names also, so after some deliberation, we decided on sticking to just Edward & Bella. Edward had insisted I should have top billing, but I had convinced him that it sounded smoother when he did. It had been our first semi fight, and we'd settled it with a long make out session that had nearly escalated to more.

I wanted more. Oh boy did I want more.

I think Edward did too, but he was taking it slow. He wanted me to know that it wasn't just a physical relationship he was after.

I appreciated it, but the sexual tension between us was getting unbearable. I'd started having incredibly vivid fantasies about him, while I was sleeping and awake, and while I certainly enjoyed them, they were incredibly distracting.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward asked me softly. I looked up at him from the sofa where I was curled around my guitar. He was sitting at his piano, smirking at me.

"What?" I asked shaking my head to clear a particularly delicious fantasy that was centered around the piano.

"You didn't play a single note that entire song and you're blushing." Edward observed. I just blushed harder. "What are you thinking?" He asked again with a small smile. I bit my lip and looked down at my guitar. He knew. He knew what I was thinking about and he was going to make me say it out loud. I glanced at him and he gave me a smile that took my breath away.

Damn Cullen Charm.

I sighed. "Oh you know." I said quietly, trying to gather my confidence. "You. Me. The piano and some especially vigorous sex." I said looking at him from under my lashes.

I was rewarded with a gasp and his eyes darkening with want. I shivered happily. I_ loved_ that look.

"Why what are you thinking about?" I asked softly. He ran a hand through his hair aggressively and let out a shaking breath.

"I'm thinking that you're making it impossible to stay a gentleman." He said gazing at me over the piano. I grinned.

"I don't know why you're treating me like glass." I said quietly. "I'm not a virgin. You're not either. We're both adults and we both want each other." I said strumming my guitar quietly. He stared at me and sighed.

"Jesus when you say it like that," He said quietly, shaking his head. My body perked up. Was he finally giving in?

Edward stood from the piano and walked around it, not taking his eyes off me. I set my guitar down on the floor and he came down to the sofa, pushing my body down against it. I moaned as his mouth found mine. I could feel every delicious inch of him and I wanted it all.

"What are you doing to me Bella?" He whispered, planting hot kisses on my burning flesh between every word. I gasped.

"Edward." I moaned. "Please."

I felt him shiver on top of me and I moved so that my legs wrapped around his hips. We both groaned.

"Bella." His voice was trying to be a warning, trying to slow us down, but neither of us listened to it. I pulled his mouth back to mine, kissing him hard.

I wanted him. More than I had ever wanted anything.

Sliding my hands down his back, I pulled at his shirt. It was gone in a flash and I giggled. I loved his chest and his back. I loved running my hands along the planes and feeling the muscles under my fingertips. Edward shivered under my touch.

I felt his own hands move to my waist, pushing my shirt off and I struggled to rip it off me.

The sound of fabric tearing filled my ears and I honestly couldn't care. I didn't love that shirt anyway.

Edward's hands were cupping my breasts, driving me crazy and I was just about to beg for more when a throat cleared. I froze under Edward and he looked at me with wide eyes before we looked up.

Standing there was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was tall and slender with long blond hair and cold blue eyes. She had one hand on her perfect hip, the other clutching a big designer purse. I had no idea who she was, but jealousy and insecurity flooded me. Did Edward have a girlfriend I didn't know about?

I looked up at him and he grinned at her, further confusing me.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." The beautiful woman said eyeing me coolly. I blushed and tried to hide under Edward, but he was standing and crossing the room, wrapping the blond in a bone-crushing hug. She melted a little against him and hugged him back. I started scrambling around the room for my shirt. I picked it up and realized it was completely ripped down the middle. I sighed. That's what I got for getting caught up in the moment.

Grabbing Edward's shirt and slipping it on, I stood slowly, watching them interact.

"What are you doing here?" Edward asked pulling away from her. Even at her impressive height, Edward was still taller than her.

"In town for a photo shoot." She said eyeing me again. Edward turned to me and grinned.

"Baby come here." He said winding his arm around me. I shrank into his side. "Bella, this is my sister, Rosalie. Rose, this is my Bella."

Relief flooded me and I felt guilty for ever thinking he could be cheating on me.

Rose eyed me over once before giving me a small smile.

"So this is her?" She asked Edward. He nodded kissing the side of my head. "It's nice to meet you Bella. Edward never stops talking about you." She said softening a little. I smiled and shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you too Rosalie. Edward talks about you and his brother all the time." I said trying to bring myself to be more at ease. She looked at Edward and he smiled at her.

"Jeez Rose, it's so good to see you." He said pulling her into a hug again. She smiled.

"You too little brother." She said squeezing him. "Well mom told me I could come by and crash here, but obviously you're a bit preoccupied." She said eyeing me again. I blushed.

"No Rose, of course you can stay here. As long as you want." He insisted. "We were actually going to go meet up with some friends for dinner. You want to come?" He asked. She smirked.

"It didn't look like you guys were getting ready to leave to me." She said giving me a knowing smile. I blushed harder and Edward smiled sheepishly.

"Uh yeah," He said chuckling.

"Dinner sounds great." Rose said smiling. I turned to Edward.

"I'm going to need to run home and change." I said picking at his shirt. He grinned.

"Don't bother Bella, I'm sure I have a top that you could borrow." Rosalie offered. I stared at her surprised.

"Oh, are you sure?" I asked. She had seemed so cold to me, I honestly was worried she didn't like me. Her offer surprised me. Glancing at Edward, it seemed to surprise him too.

"Yeah of course. Come on, we'll go look through my suit case." She said motioning to the large designer bag by the door. Edward took it for her and led her down to the guest room. She looked around it and smiled. "Who decorated the room?" Rose asked looking at Edward. He smiled at me and Rose turned to study me. Finally she nodded. "You've got great taste." She decided. Edward was beaming.

"I'll let you two get changed. I'm going to go find a shirt of my own." He said winking at me and leaving the room. Rosalie unzipped her suitcase and started pawing through it.

"My brother is head over heels for you." She said casually. I shuffled nervously.

"I'm the same way about him." I said quietly. She looked up at me and smiled.

"I have to admit Bella. The way Edward goes on and on about you, I didn't expect you to be so shy." She said looking up at me. I frowned.

"Well usually when I meet my boyfriend's family, they don't walk in on us in a compromising position and I'm not half naked." I snapped. She looked at me in surprise then grinned.

"There it is." She said with a twinkle in her eye. "He said you're a spit fire when you don't over think yourself." She said happily. "I'm glad he was right." I couldn't even bring myself to be embarrassed. "Well, I'm sorry for interrupting you guys." She said turning back to her clothes. "But I'm sure he'll just pick up right where you left off later." She said simply. I sighed.

"I wish." I muttered. She looked up at me quizzically. "He's got this no sex rule going right now. I think I was just about to get him to cave when you interrupted." I said blushing. I couldn't believe I was talking to Edward's sister about this!

She just rolled her eyes and smiled at me.

"Of course he does." She said sarcastically. "Edward is such an enigma. He's the only person I know who would fall in love with a girl and refuse to have sex with her." She said shaking her blond locks. I didn't say anything to her assumption that Edward was in love with me because I was trying desperately not to think about it. If he did love me, I couldn't hide my emotions either and then we'd be taking what I considered a rather large step rather quickly.

"Why would he do that?" I asked instead. Rosalie shrugged.

"Edward is, complicated." She said finally. "Our parents are old fashioned, and while they didn't really expect us to wait until marriage to have sex, they did always teach us to treat someone we love with respect, to take it slow with them. I think Edward was the only one to take the advice to heart." She said laughing. I smiled, glad for the insight. "Anyway, he must really love you, because I don't think I've ever seen him in a relationship for this long without sex. None of my siblings have. We're all very physical." She said giving me a small smile. It made me uncomfortable, her talking about Edward's past relationships, and fortunately she let the subject drop as she smiled triumphantly. "Why don't we make my brother reconsider his no sex rule?" She asked holding out a top to me. I stared at the shiny fabric in shock.

It was so something I'd never in a million years wear.

I had to admit, it was really enticing.

"Come on Bella, it's not often anyone can make Edward change his mind. He's so damn stubborn. I think you might have a really good chance at it tonight." She said holding out the dark silver top. I sighed.

"I don't even know how to wear something like this." I whispered. She grinned.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you how it's done.

I felt self-conscious. Self conscious and sexy, if such a mix were possible. The silver top slunk against my skin softly and had a low scooped neck. The back didn't exist except from the small straps of the halter-top and a small band at the bottom of the shirt to keep it shut. I was going without a bra, which made me nervous, but after a promise from Rosalie that I looked amazing, I gave in.

"You look amazing." She insisted, finishing up my make up. I hadn't wanted to wear any, but Rose was just as insistent as Alice, and in the end I had caved. She hadn't done much, which I was grateful for, and had even curled my hair lightly. I rubbed my dark jeans nervously and she gave me a small smile.

"I won't be surprised if you don't even make it to the front door before he jumps you." She said grinning. I smiled at her. Despite her initial cool meeting, Rose, as she insisted I call her, was actually a genuinely nice person. She was stubborn, just like her brother, and opinionated, but I could see how well she meant to be and that over ruled everything else.

"Come on Bella, let's get going." She smiling. I nodded and slid on my leather jacket. We both agreed it would be better for me to wear it until we got to Carmen's that way we at least made it out of the apartment.

Rose strutted out of the room looking to die for in dark jeans and a strapless red top that accentuated her perfect curves. Effortless. Everything she did just looked effortless.

Edward was sitting at his piano when we immerged and he rolled his eyes at Rose.

"You're bringing a jacket right?" He asked eyeing her. She sighed.

"Jeez Edward, not even an hour and already you're back to overprotective." She said smirking at him. "Need I remind you I'm older than you?" She asked eyeing him. He smiled.

"Rosie, need I remind you you're still my sister?"

She melted a little and relented by grabbing a coat. Edward's eyes slid to me and he let out a shaky breath.

"Wow." He said quietly. Rose gave me a triumphant smile.

"Come on baby, let's get going." I said needing him to get out of the apartment before we jumped each other. He was dressed simply in a dark grey button down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and dark jeans. He looked delicious.

We left the apartment and Edward wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"I know what you're doing." He whispered into my hair. I shivered.

"And what is that?" I asked coyly, turning to look at him. He grinned.

"You're seducing me." He said leaning down to kiss me. I smiled against his lips. "And dammit, it's working." He whispered. I giggled.

"Come on baby, the nights still young and this shirt has all sorts of secrets still to share." I said tugging him in the direction of the elevator where Rose was waiting for us. He groaned but followed behind me and I sent Rose a smile.

As soon as we got to Carmen's we headed over to our usual table where Emmett and Alice were sitting, arguing about who knows what. They stopped when they saw us coming over and Alice gaped at me while Emmett couldn't tear his eyes away from Rose.

"Bella, you look so hot!" Alice exclaimed, causing people to look our direction. I blushed.

"Jesus Alice, a little louder why don't you?" I asked sitting next to her. She squeezed in until she was closer to Emmett.

Edward sat next to me and Rose slid in next to Emmett.

"Alice, Em, this is Rosalie Cullen. Edward's sister." I said introducing them. Emmett and Rose still hadn't taken their eyes off each other. Alice looked back at me.

"Seriously Bella, what's with the get up?" Alice asked. Rosalie finally dragged her eyes from Emmett.

"I dressed her up." Rose said giving me a grin. I blushed and Alice stared at her in shock.

"And she let you?" Alice asked surprised. Rose laughed.

"Well, I had the right incentive." She said glancing at her brother. He moved closer to me. His hands were everywhere and it was making it hard for me to think. Alice giggled.

"Well I gotta hear this story. Come on girls, we're going to order drinks." Alice said kicking us all out of the booth. Edward stood and slid me out with him, pulling me to him. Alice and Rose stood and both grabbed my hands, dragging me away from him. Edward sighed in defeat and slid into the booth so he and Emmett were in the middle together.

"Bella who is that guy?" Rose asked as we reached the bar.

"Em? He's one of my best friends." I said looking back at him. His eyes were locked on Rosalie. She turned to me and eyed Alice.

"Are you guys dating?" She asked. Alice giggled.

"Oh god no. He's one of my best friends also. He's not dating anyone." Alice said smiling. Rosalie grinned.

"Good, because I want him." She decided. I smiled at her brazenness.

"By the drool on his face I'd say he wants you too." Alice giggled. We all laughed and I turned to the bar tender, ordering beers for us while Alice and Rose talked about my outfit.

"Seriously Bella, he still hasn't caved?" Alice asked looking at me. I shrugged.

"It makes more sense now." I said looking at Rose. She nodded and explained to Alice what she had told me earlier. Alice still looked skeptical.

"If I had an Edward, there would be no waiting." Alice said sternly. Rose and I both laughed and Rose looked back at the table.

"Yeah I don't think I'll be following my parents advice either." She said turning back to us. We all smirked. The drinks came around and we carried them back to the table along with some menus. I crawled into the booth next to Edward who pulled me as close to him as possible. I giggled and snuggled into his side. I still hadn't taken the jacket off, but I could feel Edward fingering it curiously.

"I love the end of the month at Carmen's!" Alice squealed happily. Edward frowned.

"Why?" He asked. I sighed.

"Because they set up a dance floor and hire a dj and there is crazy dancing all night long. Also half off drinks." I said holding up my beer.

"Here here!" Emmett cheered. We clinked bottles across Edward and smiled at each other.

"Well I'm starving so let's order food so we can dance!" Alice insisted. We all decided on food and this time Rose and Emmett went up to place the orders. Edward smiled as he watched them go.

"She likes him." I whispered. He nodded.

"Yeah I think he likes her too." He said smiling. I grinned at him.

"Will you dance with me later?" I asked looking up at him. He grinned.

"If you promise that I'm the only one you dance with." He said softly. I giggled.

"I think I may want to dance with Ali and Rose." I said softly. He sighed.

"If you must." He teased. I grinned and reached up to kiss him.

Our kiss got heated much too quickly and Alice cleared her throat.

"Not that it should be an issue, but we are in public guys." Alice said chuckling. I blushed and pulled away from Edward who sighed. Was he rethinking his no sex rule? Because I sure was.

As soon as we finished eating, Alice and Rose were dragging me out to the dance floor. I laughed and pulled off my jacket, tossing it next to Edward.

"Jesus Bella!" Emmett said jumping up. I jumped startled and he was out of the booth, throwing his oversized jacket around me. "What the hell are you wearing?" He asked with wide eyes. Edward was standing now, his eyes wide and dark. I shivered. I _really loved _that look.

"Em calm down." I hissed pulling off his jacket. He threw it back on me and I glared at him. "Seriously it's just a shirt" I hissed.

"It's just a piece of fabric that's barely covering any of you." He objected. I glared at him.

"Emmett, now is so not the time to get all big brother on me." I hissed throwing his jacket back in the booth. "Baby what do you think of my top?" I asked looking at Edward and turning so he could see the back. The sides of the shirt kept moving, and if I twisted too fast, I was certain a boob would make an appearance, but that was sort of thrilling.

Edward struggled for words and Emmett groaned.

"Ugh, no. You're supposed to back me up man." Emmett whined. I smiled triumphantly and Edward stepped forward, brining me to his chest. His hands wandered my open back and I shivered against him.

My nipples, which had been being worked over by the silk of the shirt all night, were at attention immediately and Edward grinned when he felt them against his chest.

"Let's get out of here." He whispered against my neck. I almost caved.

"No you promised me a dance." I said shaking my head. Edward sighed and the feeling shot straight through me to my core.

_Yum._

"You're really going to make me regret my rule aren't you?" He asked ghosting his hands up my arms. I smiled at him.

"So much that you'll never reinstate it." I promised. He grinned and pulled me closer.

"Let's dance." He murmured against my lips.

It was a good thing he was holding me up, because I was certain I wouldn't have been able to stand on my own.

He led me out to the makeshift dance floor just as the song changed. I looked over to see Alice grinning from the DJ's booth as she sent me a wink. I laughed. I loved this song.

"Once upon a dream, I was dying for you  
Tasting only sweet, drinking memories of you  
Your hand touches my cheek as you whisper softly

Don't forget to breathe  
Our love will be redeemed  
And when you take my hand  
You'll know exactly where I am

A toast to starry nights, seeking comfort divine  
Celebrating life, swimming circles in light  
And I look to the sea and hear you calling softly

Don't forget to breathe  
Our love will be redeemed  
And when you take my hand  
You'll know exactly where I am

I hear you calling to me  
See you but you can't see me  
We never said our goodbyes  
So dark and lonely your eyes  
You'll always be in my heart  
There is no death to us part

Don't forget to breathe  
Our love will be redeemed  
And when you take my hand  
You'll know exactly where I am  
You'll know exactly where I am."

By the time the song had ended, I was bursting with need. The silk of the shirt had backfired on me, and as my body had rubbed against his with the silk between us, I had gotten impossibly turned on. His hands that had free range on my open back were manipulating me, making my pant and moan.

"Let's get out of here." Edward whispered by my ear as the song changed. I nodded, unable to speak. He led us back to the table grabbing my coat and giving Rose directions back to the apartment. It seemed though, from the way she was wrapped around Emmett, she wouldn't need them tonight. Both Alice and Rose gave me knowing smiles as Edward rushed me out of the bar.

We couldn't get back fast enough, and when we finally stumbled into his apartment, our hands were all over each other, desperate.

"Bella." Edward groaned. "I'm sorry but I can't wait any longer." He said softly. Ha! As if it was my idea to wait in the first place!

"Thank God." I moaned. He smiled against my mouth as he carried me into his bedroom.

"Bella." He whispered placing me on the bed. I whimpered at the momentary loss of contact as he sat back and looked down at me. "Bella." He said gently, leaning down to kiss me sweetly. My body responded, trying to press myself as close to him as possible.

"Edward please." I groaned. He smiled.

"I know baby, I just need to tell you something first." He said softly. I took a deep breath and looked up at him. His dark green eyes were watching me tenderly.

"What?" I asked softly, bringing my fingers up to trace his features. He smiled as my fingers found his lips and kissed them softly.

"Bella, I love you." He whispered. My breath caught in my throat and I looked up at him with wide eyes. He kissed me gently and I felt my hands shaking as I held his beautiful face in my hands.

"I love you too." I whispered, tears in my eyes. He groaned and leaned down to kiss me, and just like that, the mood had changed. It was still hot and electric and we were still both craving each other, but now. Now, it meant so much more.

**Song is Don't Forget To Breathe - Bitter:Sweet. Link on profile. **


	5. Chapter 5 Crack The Shutters

CHAPTER FIVE

CRACK THE SHUTTERS

* * *

-EDWARD-

The scent of strawberries and freesias filled my nose and I inhaled deeply. I opened my eyes and looked around. My room, my bed, and there, in my arms, the love of my life. I smiled as I remembered the events of the previous night.

Being with Bella had been more than worth the wait. I wondered for a moment if it was possible to ever go without her again. I smiled as I realized that no, it probably wasn't possible.

Bella shifted in my arms and sighed, her body stretching out against mine. I held her tighter, pressing a kiss into her hair. She sighed and looked up at me, her chocolate eyes warm.

"Morning." I whispered. She giggled and I smiled.

"Morning." She said placing a gentle kiss on my chest. She had a hand wrapped around my waist, another curled between us and she smiled, running her fingers over my abs. I tried to hold in the groan at her touch. How did she know? How could she possibly know exactly where to touch me to make me crazy?

"I feel," She paused and cocked her head to the side before smiling. "Good. Really, really good." She said wiggling against me. I growled. Yeah, there was no way I was ever going to be without her now.

Bending down to capture her mouth against mine, I pulled until she was on top of me. Early morning sex? Yeah I could get used to this.

My eyes were trained on Bella as she danced around the kitchen. We'd not only had sex upon waking, but also once in the shower and then again as soon as we had started cooking. She had banned me from the kitchen saying we'd never get anything done if I stayed. So instead I sat at the counter outside the kitchen, watching her cook.

"You're glowing." I said quietly. She looked up at me and grinned.

"Amazing what some physical activity could do for a girl's skin." She said smiling sweetly. I laughed.

"I like seeing you glow." I said. She grinned and turned around to finish cooking. Seeing her like that, happy and free tugged at my heart. She was just so, amazing.

My thoughts wandered around her and her smile and then reality came crashing into my mind and I gasped. Bella whirled around startled.

"What's wrong?" She asked. I stared at her, wide eyed.

"Jesus Bella I totally forgot about protection." I said running a hand through my hair. What if she got pregnant? I paused at the thought. Actually, I could think of worse things happening.

Before I could consider where my thoughts were headed, Bella smiled and leaned over the counter to kiss me.

"Baby, calm down. I'm on the pill." She said softly. I let out a shaky breath. "No babies are coming out of this body just yet." She said winking. My breath hitched. Was she saying what I though she was saying? Before I could figure it out, she whirled around and continued cooking.

Bella's phone rang on the counter next to me and I glanced at it. "Babe it says Lisa's calling." I said shrugging. She sighed.

"Oh that's my landlady." She said whirling around to answer the phone. She put her on speaker. "Hi Lisa!" Bella sang happily. There was a silent pause.

"Bella?" The woman asked. She had a raspy voice that sounded like it was the product of years of smoking and jazz singing.

"Yeah Lisa, how are you?" Bella asked flipping a pancake.

"I'm fine honey. How are you?" Lisa sounded confused.

"I'm fantastic." Bella exclaimed. Lisa was quiet another moment.

"So did you get my message?" Lisa asked hesitantly. Bella smiled sweetly at the phone.

"I sure did. Don't worry, I've already made plans." Bella insisted. Lisa sighed a big relief. I remembered Bella telling me that her apartment was being fumigated and Lisa had asked everyone to leave for a weekend for it to be done. She was going to stay with Alice for those few days.

"Oh good Honey. I'm so glad to hear that. You know how much you mean to me." Lisa rasped. Bella frowned.

"Yeah of course." She said shrugging at me. I shrugged back.

"But you're such a bright girl, I knew you'd be okay." Lisa continued. Bella put her spatula down.

"Of course I'll be okay Lisa. It's just a weekend." Bella said confused. Lisa was quiet a moment.

"Oh Sugar didn't you get my other message?"

At this Bella's eyes went wide.

"What other message?" She asked. Lisa sighed.

"Oh Sugar I'm so sorry you didn't find out sooner. I'm selling the building. I have no choice, I need the money for Ray's hip replacement and you know how our insurance is crap. Plus me and Ray, we're movin' out of the city. God I'll miss it but he needs the country the old man." She joked nervously. Bella was still frowning.

"I'm so sorry to hear that Lisa." Bella said softly. I could tell she really meant that. From what I had met of Lisa, she was a sweet woman who absolutely adored Bella.

"Yeah it's alright though." She rasped. "But Bella Honey, this means that the new owners are coming in, and not only do they want to renovate the apartments, but they're raising the rent as well." Lisa said quietly.

"But they can't do that. I have a contract saying they can't do that." Bella said, her voice getting higher.

"Honey, your contract expires in two days. Sugar I'm sorry. You and I were scheduled to renew your lease but then all this stuff with Ray happened." She babbled. Bella's face paled and I moved around the counter to wrap my arms around her. She sank against me.

"But Lisa, where am I supposed to live?" Bella asked with tears in her eyes.

"Oh Bella I was hoping you had gotten this notice earlier." Lisa lamented. "What about those friends of yours? Can you crash with them?" Lisa offered. Alice lived in a one bedroom apartment and while Emmett had an extra room, it was usually reserved for the multitude of family members he had coming through his apartment every week. Bella had told me Emmett was smack dab in the middle of seven children and most of his family had stayed close by. The McCarty's were a tight knit group and someone was always visiting with someone else. "Or that hunky boyfriend of yours. He's such a dish. I remember when Ray looked that good. Well not that good, your guy is extra sexy, but my Ray used to be quite a catch." She prattled. I smiled and pulled my arms around Bella's waist. She looked up at me and I grinned.

"Yeah, why not your hunky boyfriend's place?" I murmured in her ear. She stared at me with wide eyes.

"Lisa I'll call you back." Bella called interrupting Lisa from what sounded like a rather graphic story of her and Ray in their youth.

"Alright Sugar. Gosh I hope everything works out for you. Let me know."

Bella hung up the phone and turned to look at me.

"Move in with me." I said again.

"Are you serious?"

I couldn't tell how she was feeling. Was she happy? Nervous? Angry? I had no way of knowing.

"Yeah. You spend most of your time here anyway. Plus, there is always the guest room if you feel like that moves our relationship too fast." I said praying to God she wouldn't want the guestroom. She kept staring at me and I stood in front of her, anxiously. Finally she sighed.

"I want to pay half the rent." She said steadily. I shook my head.

"No don't worry about that." I urged. She fixed me with a cold glare.

"I pay half the rent and half the utilities." She insisted. "I'm not going to freeload off of you." She said firmly. I sighed.

"Half the utilities and no rent." I countered. Her eyes widened when she realized I was bargaining with her.

"Half the utilities and groceries." She said crossing her arms over her chest. I smiled.

"How about half the utilities and you cook since you may be the best cook I've ever met." I said stepping closer to her and wrapping my arms around her waist.

"Plus groceries." She insisted. I chuckled and kissed her softly.

"Half the groceries." I murmured. She sighed.

"You're so stubborn." She said softly. I grinned.

"So are you baby." I whispered. She pulled away and placed her soft hands on my face.

"Are you really serious about this?" She asked. I nodded.

"I really am." I said holding her to me. She took a deep breath then let a small smile settle on her face.

"Okay. Let's have breakfast." She said turning to the fluffy stack of pancakes. I grabbed her round the waist again.

"I'd rather have you." I whispered against her neck. She shivered and groaned.

"Edward, we have to eat food so that we can go to my apartment and figure all this out." She groaned. Excited at the idea of Bella moving in with me, I let her go.

"Alright, let's eat." I said grabbing a plate. She giggled at me and I just grinned back.

...

"One night of sex and you two are moving in?" Rose asked walking into Bella's apartment.

"Must have been some amazing sex." Alice chimed following right behind her. Bella blushed scarlet and I just grinned. It _had_ been amazing sex. Emmett who followed the girls scowled at Bella.

"Bells." He whined. "I thought we had a deal." He pouted. Bella sighed.

"Honestly Em, I wish I could make the same deal with these two." She said eying my sister and Alice. The girls just grinned at her.

"What's the deal?" I asked softly. Emmett eyed me.

"We don't talk about her sex life so that I don't get the urge to beat up her boyfriend." Emmett growled. I laughed.

"I like that. Rose, that rule becomes effective immediately." I said eying her. She glanced at Emmett and they both grinned.

"Fine." She said easily. I shuddered. Usually I was way more protective of my sister. Even though she was older than me and more than capable of handling herself and men, I couldn't help my protective nature. It had driven us to horrible fights in the past, and I was trying not to let it get between us now. Plus, if she was sleeping with Emmett, I couldn't really get mad because technically I was now sleeping with his 'sister'.

"Thank you all for helping out." Bella said nudging the boxes we had brought over from my apartment. "I know it's last minute." She said rubbing her neck. "But hopefully this won't take long and I promise you all dinner and alcohol." She said smiling. Everyone grinned and we divided up. Alice went to tackle Bella's room while Emmett went to the living room. Rose went to help Alice and Bella went to start packing the kitchen, which left me to help Emmett in the living room. He looked at me with narrowed eyes and I returned the look. Then we both grinned at each other and got to work. Emmett was an easygoing guy and I found myself comfortable around him despite the fact that he was intimidating as hell.

"Hey Edward." Emmett said a few hours later. I looked up at him from Bella's hefty bookcases. "Be good to my sister." He said quietly. I nodded.

"Hey Emmett." I said back. He looked up at me. "Be good to mine."

He grinned at me and nodded and that was all we said on the subject.

...

"God I'm starving!" Alice moaned flopping down on the sofa in Bella's living room. Bella sighed from my lap and I held her tighter.

"Who would have thought you'd have so much shit Bells." Emmett muttered from where he was sprawled out on the floor. Bella huffed.

"You just wait until Alice moves. You'll be begging for my apartment again." Bella snapped. I laughed and kissed her hair.

"Well I say we go get some food and get drunk." Rose decided. I nodded in agreement. That sounded like a great plan.

Rose's phone rang and she fished it out of her purse before grinning widely. "Jazz!" She cried answering the phone. I looked up at her surprised. She looked over at me as Jazz spoke and her face went from happy to confused to a smirk. "Yeah probably not. Okay. Yeah I'll let him know. No I know. Don't worry. What?" She looked at Bella and grinned. "Oh yeah."

Bella blushed and I smiled. I could only imagine what my siblings were talking about.

"Okay Jazz. Sounds good. See you!" She hung up the phone and looked at me. "Apparently little brother, you've been ignoring all your emails." She said tutting at me. I frowned.

"I have not." I lied. She rolled her eyes.

"According to Jazz, you either don't know or don't care that he's back in Chicago." She said flouncing over to a chair to sit near Emmett. I stared at her in surprise.

"Really?" I asked. She nodded.

"He's coming out to Seattle for a job interview next week." She informed me. I stared at her in surprise.

"Wow, that's great." I said honestly. I loved my big brother, and if he decided to relocate here that would make me pretty happy. Even though I'd insisted on moving so far away from my family, I actually missed them all a lot. Having Rose around was a great reminder of how wonderful of a family I actually had.

"Enough talk!" Alice whined. "Feed me!" We all laughed as Emmett punched an arm up in the air from where he was sprawled on the floor.

"Here here!" He called.

...

"I'm so tired." Bella sighed as she plopped down on our bed. I smiled and crawled in next to her. "So much is changing." She whispered looking at me. I nodded.

"Yeah." I said reaching out to brush the hair from her face. "Is it okay?" I asked softly. She smiled and moved the pillow so it propped her up rather than suffocated her.

"Yeah. It's good change." She said looking up at me. I smiled.

"I'd say so too." I said leaning down to kiss her hair. She sighed happily. "I'm going to go shower." I said softly. She perked up and I couldn't help my laugh. "Would you care to join me?" I offered.

"Yes please."

...

Bella's cold hands danced across my chest and I shivered. My eyes were still shut but my mouth pulled up in a smile. "Baby can you wake me later?" I whispered. She giggled and ran her hands up to my neck, leaving a freezing trail behind her fingers before they wandered back down to my chest. "Why are you so cold?" I asked finally opening an eye. She grinned.

"Your heater is broken." She said giggling. "It's freezing." She said snuggling into me. I laughed.

"I'll take care of it." I promised her. She tucked her hands between us and they warmed up quickly. I looked past her at the large windows and noticed the shutters were open, letting sunlight stream in. It caught up in her hair and made her glow. "You are so beautiful." I whispered softly. She smiled up at me.

"I was kinda just thinking the same thing about you." She whispered back. I smiled and ran my hand along her exposed curves. Chills erupted on her skin and I smiled.

"I love you Bella."

"I love you too Edward."

We laid in bed for an immeasurable amount of time. It could have been minutes, hours or even days. All I was aware of was the beautiful woman next to me.

"Babe." Bella whispered as her hands trailed invisible lines over my chest.

"Hmm?" I asked. She smiled.

"We have to get up. We need to go get the rest of my stuff."

Yesterday we'd managed to move most of Bella's belongings to our apartment. There was just a few things left back at her place that we had to take care of before she'd be moved out of there.

"How about we have Emmett and Alice deal with the furniture and you and I stay in bed." I suggested rolling over so that I was hovering above her. She laughed.

"As tempting as that is, we can't do that." She said kissing me softly. I sighed.

"I'm going to write a song about this morning then so I can remember it forever." I declared. She smiled up at me.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea."

...

When we finally emerged from our room, Rose was sitting at the counter in the kitchen, eating a bowl of fruit. She looked at us and smirked.

"Your walls aren't thick enough." She said in greeting. Bella's face paled and I rolled my eyes at my sister.

"Our walls are just fine." I said leading Bella into the kitchen.

"Really? Because I heard Bella all three times last night." She said smirking over at us. Bella's eyes widened and a blush rushed across her cheeks.

"Leave it alone Rose." I growled. Rose just winked at Bella who couldn't help giving her a small smile back.

"So what are you kids up to today?" Rose asked spearing a strawberry.

"We're finishing up moving." Bella said starting a pot of oatmeal.

"Well have fun. I will not be helping out with that. "Rose announced. Bella laughed.

"Don't worry about it. You've done so much already. Thanks." Bella said grinning. Rose smiled at her.

I pulled down bowls for our breakfast and Bella smiled at me. We worked so well together, even in things as simple as making breakfast.

We settled down together and ate with Rose before heading out to Bella's apartment and finishing up the move.

...

It only took a few hours, and soon we were back in our apartment. I sat at my piano as Bella sorted through her books, shelving them patiently. True to my word I was writing a song about this morning's events. It came so easily and I knew it was because it had been Bella to inspire them. She was my muse.

"Finished." Bella murmured standing back and staring at the bookshelves. I smiled at her when she glanced at me.

"Me too." I said motioning for her to come over. She came and sat next to me at the piano. "I've got something to play you." I said quietly. She nodded excitedly.

"You cool your bed-warm hands down

On the broken radiator

And when you lay them freezing on me

I mumble, "Can you wake me later?"

But I don't really want you to stop

And you know it so it doesn't stop you

And run your hands from my neck to my chest

Crack the shutters open wide

I wanna bathe you in the light of day

And just watch you as the rays

Tangle up around your face and body

I could sit for hours finding new ways

To be awed each minute

'Cause the daylight seems to want you

Just as much as I want you

It's been minutes, it's been days

It's been all I will remember

I have been lost in your hair

And the cold side of the pillow

Your hills and valleys

Are mapped by my intrepid fingers

And in a naked slumber dream all this again

Crack the shutters open wide

I wanna bathe you in the light of day

And just watch you as the rays

Tangle up around your face and body

I could sit for hours finding new ways

To be awed each minute

'Cause the daylight seems to want you

Just as much as I want you

Crack the shutters open wide

I wanna bathe you in the light of day

And just watch you as the rays

Tangle up around your face and body

I could sit for hours finding new ways

To be awed each minute

'Cause the daylight seems to want you

Just as much as I want you."

Bella's eyes were on me, watching me with an emotion I couldn't really describe. "What do you think?" I asked nervously. She smiled slowly.

"I think I have a new favourite song. "She whispered. I smiled at her.

"Yeah?" I asked. She leaned into me, kissing me sweetly.

"I love you Edward."

I sighed against her and pulled her to me.

"I love you too Bella."

**Song "Crack the Shutters" - Snow Patrol. Link on my profile. **

**Thanks for reading. :)**


	6. Chapter 6 Kiss Me

CHAPTER SIX

KISS ME

* * *

-BELLA-

It scared me how easy my relationship with Edward was. I'd never not had to work to be with someone, but with Edward it was effortless.

Victoria greeted us at the door the next Wednesday evening. She was dressed in slacks and an orange blouse that complimented her bright hair.

"Hey you two." She said grinning. Edward smiled at her and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Good evening." He said politely. Though she was nothing but generous to us, both Edward and I got the distinct feeling that if Edward were available, and even if he weren't but dating someone else, Victoria would be all over him. So far she hadn't made any move toward him, which I was glad for.

"This weekend, are you guys free?" She asked leading us downstairs and back towards her office. Edward and I followed her.

"Uh yeah, pretty free, why?" I asked looking to Edward. He nodded in agreement. Victoria turned to us and smiled.

"I've got a private party coming in. Specifically asked for you guys to play. They have rented the entire club and are paying through the nose for it." She said gleefully. I smiled.

"That's great Victoria." I said honestly. She nodded.

"The party is Saturday night. It's an anniversary party or engagement party or something like that." She said shaking her hair. "Anyway, it starts at eight so I want you guys here by seven. It's going to be a long night. Are you up for that?" She asked. We both nodded. "Great, thanks so much guys. I gotta make sure everything is ready to open tonight." She said dismissing us. Edward and I nodded, leaving her office. We headed down to the small stage to start setting up. We technically didn't come on until nine, but we usually arrived around four to set up before leaving for a few hours. We found it easier to set up when the club was still empty.

"What are you thinking baby?" Edward asked as I set up the mike for my guitar. I looked up at him and sighed.

"I was thinking that I love this place, but I think it would be amazing to play other venues." I whispered, afraid to be overheard by Victoria. Edward nodded.

"I agree." He said quietly. "Maybe we can look into it." He offered. I smiled at him.

"Do you think we should talk to Victoria about it?" I asked softly. We hadn't signed a contract with her or anything, so we weren't legally obligated to tell her or play strictly at her club, but still, I felt weird sneaking around behind her back about it. Especially after all she'd done for us.

"We can." Edward said shrugging. "It might be decent of us to give her a sort of heads up." He said nodding. I smiled at him.

"Agreed." I said setting my guitar down on it's stand. Edward smiled at me and pulled me toward him, wrapping his arms around me.

He leaned down to kiss me and I smiled, throwing my arms around him and bringing him closer to me.

"I love you." I whispered. He chuckled at me.

"Took the words right out of my mouth baby." He whispered back. I grinned at him. "Come on, let's finish setting up then we can head out for a few hours." He said kissing me once more before pulling away from me to finish setting up. I nodded and got back to work.

We finished setting everything up then went out the back door that spit us onto Pike Place.

Because it was late May, and tourist season was just starting, Pike's Market was packed. Edward wound his arm around my waist and I snuggled into his side as we wove through the crowds of people, making our way through the market and down to the marina bellow.

"What do you want to do babe?" Edward asked as we stepped out onto the boardwalk that ran along the water line. I sighed.

"Anything. Everything. I don't care." I said smiling up at him. He laughed and kissed the top of my head.

He opened his mouth to respond when his phone started ringing. Pulling it out of his pocket, he quickly glanced at the ID before smiling and answering it.

"Hey Rosie how's apartment hunting going?" He asked.

After being in Seattle for three days for her photo shoot, Rosalie had made a somewhat dramatic decision. She had announced to us that she was going to quit modeling and move to Seattle to get her masters degree. In Aerospace engineering.

When she had announced her plan on Monday, I think I had stared at her for five full minutes of shock before I snapped out of it long enough to congratulate her. Edward, who was much more used to his sister, had just smiled and hugged her, telling her he thought it was a fantastic idea. Apparently once Rosalie Cullen decided on something, she did not back down.

I wondered how possible it would be for her to get into school here on such a short notice, but it seemed that was taken care of as well. Last night she had told us that their mother Esme, who knew everyone, had called in a few favours and pulled a few strings and had gotten Rosalie admitted to the University starting this fall. Rosalie hadn't even needed to apply.

I had been so overwhelmed by this family's pull, for a brief moment I wondered what Edward was doing, slumming it with me.

As soon as I had that thought, my stomach had twisted unpleasantly and Edward had demanded I tell him what I had been thinking. An hour of persuasion later, I finally had told him what I had thought. He'd been so furious with me for even thinking like that. I'd never seen him more livid. We'd screamed and fought and slammed doors for about five minutes before aggressively attacking each other and having the most amazing make up sex that has ever been.

Today I was still sore from all our activities, which made me rather happy.

Edward glanced at me and frowned curiously when he saw my smile. I just shrugged.

"What Rosie? Oh yeah, no." He paused and stiffened momentarily before glancing at me. "I guess." He growled. I could hear Rose's stern voice yelling at him, though the words were unclear. Edward sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at him. "We were not that loud Rose." He growled again. This time I blushed bright red. "No Rose, he is a great guy. No that's not what I'm," He paused and I could see him clench his hand into a fist. "I know Rose." He said in a surprisingly level tone. "Fine." He said after a moment. Whatever he and his sister were talking about must have been serious because I'd never seen Edward so worked up. "Fine." He said again, this time his voice sounding somewhat defeated. "Yeah of course. See you later Rosie." He said hanging up. I looked at him curiously and he let out a long breath. "Rose has decided that after last night she doesn't want to stay with us anymore." He said giving me a small satisfied smirk. I blushed. "She's been looking for an apartment, but according to her, everything is either too tacky or in a bad location. She's still looking around but until she does she's decided to move in with Emmett." He said trying really hard not to show how much this annoyed him.

"But they only met last Friday!" I said surprised. Edward nodded.

"I know, but neither Rose or Emmett seem to care." He said frowning. I could see how much this was worrying him and I brought my arms up around his waist to hug him tightly.

"I know we're not exactly a poster couple for taking things slow." I said softly. Edward snorted a laugh. "But maybe we can talk to them?" I offered. Edward sighed.

"I don't know what I could say though. We've known each other almost three months now and not only do we live together, but I am so madly in love with you that I don't think I could live without you. I'm not sure I've got a leg to stand on." He said softly. I smiled at him and reached up to kiss him sweetly.

"I'll talk to Emmett." I promised. Edward nodded. "Though I don't have a leg either." I said softly. Edward smiled.

"I love you Bella." Edward said stopping to cup my face in his hands. "I never thought love like this was possible." He said running his thumbs across my cheeks. I smiled up at him.

"I know what you mean." I whispered. Edward bent down to kiss me sweetly and I wrapped myself around him like a vine. We stood there on the boardwalk, making out for who knows how long before deciding to just head back to the apartment. Edward wanted to talk to Rose and I wanted to talk to Emmett before tonight.

Edward dropped me off at Em's telling me he'd come by later so we could walk to the club together.

Emmett's apartment was actually really nice and had a fantastic view of down town. When we first moved out of the dorms, I had stayed here with him until I had convinced him that yes, I would be okay living on my own. He was highly skeptical about it, but I'd put my foot down and moved out.

I had a key to Em's apartment, but it was almost never locked, so when I reached his door, I just walked in.

"Em?" I called moving into the apartment.

"Bells?" He yelled back. I made my way back to the living room where he was hunched over his huge drafting desk, staring at the plans there. Em was an architect student and a brilliant one at that.

"Hey you." I said coming into the room. He looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey Bells. How are you?" He asked standing to hug me. I smiled at him.

"I'm fine. How are you?" I asked pulling away to look at him. He shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm great."

I nodded. "So I heard about Rose's plans." I said settling on the sofa and cutting straight to it. Emmett nodded and I waited for him to elaborate.

"Yeah." He said slowly. When he didn't continue I frowned.

"How do you feel about these plans?" I asked. Emmett looked up at me from where he had settled back behind his desk.

"Bells I have never felt so drawn to someone before. She's amazing and stubborn and challenging and tenacious and I think I'm falling for her." He said seriously. I was surprised. Emmett was almost never serious about a girl. Ever.

"Even though it's barely been a week?" I asked softly. Emmett looked at me and rolled his eyes.

"How long did it take you to realize you had fallen in love with Edward?" He asked.

"Fair point." I agreed. It hadn't taken me long at all to realize that I loved him. In fact, I'm nearly certain that I had fallen in love with him the night we met. "Okay so you really like, possibly love, Rose. What's the problem?" I asked softly.

"The problem is I don't know how to be a decent boyfriend." Emmett said frowning. "You know me Bells. I'm too casual. I piss women off without even meaning to. How the hell am I supposed to navigate a relationship with a woman who I love when I couldn't even make it through relationships with women I just liked?" He asked rubbing the back of his neck. I gave him a small smile.

"Em." I said drawing his attention. He looked up at me and stared at me, his twinkling blue eyes sad and confused. "Has it ever occurred to you that those relationships didn't last because they weren't supposed to?" I asked softly. Emmett stared at me in surprise. "If this relationship with Rose is real, if this is it, then it'll last. You'll learn and you'll do whatever it takes to keep her. Plus, you're not giving yourself enough credit. You've been my best friend my whole life and you've never been anything but amazing to me. If that's not proof of a good healthy loving relationship with a woman I don't know what is." I said smiling at him.

"Yeah but Bells it's cause we're best friends." He protested.

"And I think you'll find that if Rose is as important as you think, she'll become one of your best friends too. Just with kissing and stuff." I said giggling. Emmett stared at me in amazement.

"When did you become the love guru?" He joked. I grinned.

"I'm just telling you what I'm learning from loving Edward." I whispered. Emmett nodded.

"He's a good guy." Emmett commented. I nodded in agreement.

"He is. So are you Em." I insisted. He gave me a small smile. "So how do you feel about her moving in with you?" I asked. This time Emmett smiled and it lit up his eyes.

"I'm stoked. It's the weirdest thing in the world, I used to hate sleeping in the same bed as people, except for you of course because we were sharing cribs." He said chuckling. "But with Rose, I can't sleep without her. It scares me how much I depend on her, but it's also kind of cool. I can't wait for her to move in here. I'm secretly hoping she doesn't find a place. I'd be perfectly happy for her to stay here forever." He admitted. I smiled at him.

"Well, I'm glad." I said honestly. He smirked at me.

"Enough heavy talk. What's new with you?" He asked settling back into his seat. I shrugged.

"Dad called yesterday. I think he wants to meet Edward." I said fidgeting nervously. Emmett grinned. The last guy my dad had met, he'd chased off with a shotgun. It wasn't loaded, at least I don't think it was, but I was still furious with him. Since then I'd been skeptical about him meeting anyone I liked.

"I could probably talk to him." Em offered. "He tends to go easier on people if he knows I approve." He said smirking. I rolled my eyes.

"Unfortunately that's true. Please call him when you get a chance. And try not to mention anything about me living with him." I pleaded. He laughed.

"Still haven't broken it to him?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I'm just waiting for the right time." I said defensively. Emmett just laughed.

"Don't worry Bells, I'll back you up." He said smirking at me. I nodded.

"Good. Now I'm going to get a drink. Do you want one?" I asked moving to his kitchen.

"Yeah a beer!" He called. I grabbed a bottle of water for me and a beer for him before coming back into the living room. He had moved to the sofa and was turning on his xbox smiling at me. "Got time for a few rounds of me whooping your ass?" He asked.

"In your dreams McCarty." I said plopping down next to him and snatching my own controller.

We played video games for hours, laughing and elbowing each other, trying to trip each other up. It was great. We hadn't spent much time together lately and I had missed Em.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Emmett cried standing up. I shot up next to him and climbed on the sofa to look past him.

"YES!" I screamed, throwing my hands up in the air. Emmett stared at the screen in defeat. I did a small victory dance on the sofa and heard a chuckle come from the doorway. I looked over and grinned at Edward. I hopped off the sofa and ran across the room, jumping up into his arms. He caught me easily and grinned. "Hey baby." I said wrapping my arms around him. He laughed and kissed me.

"Hey yourself." He said pulling away. "I see you beat the reigning champ." He said looking over to Emmett. I grinned.

"I always beat him." I gloated. Emmett rolled his eyes and grumbled loudly, making me giggle.

"I let you win just so I can see that hilarious victory dance." Emmett goaded. I stuck my tongue out at him and Edward laughed. I turned back to him and grinned.

"You ready baby? We need to get going." He said settling his hands under my butt. I wriggled against him and he froze, giving me a look that told me he knew exactly what I was doing.

"Are we running late?" I whispered into his neck. I felt him shiver and I smiled, placing a small kiss on his neck.

"Unfortunately, we don't have spare time." He said quietly. I sighed and slid my legs down from his waist down to the ground, letting my body rub fully against his.

"Okay, let me go use the restroom then we'll go." I said reaching up to give him a small peck on the cheek and then dashing away. I heard him let out a shuddering breath and Emmett laughed at him. I couldn't help my own smile.

When I came back out into the room both Edward and Emmett looked somewhat somber, but there didn't seem to be any unusual tension in the air so I shrugged them off.

"You stopping by tonight?" I asked Emmett as I reached Edward. Emmett nodded and Edward wrapped his arms around me.

"Yeah, I think we will." He said giving me a small smile. I grinned and reached up to kiss his cheek.

"Great. See you tonight." I said nodding firmly. He smiled and tried to muss my hair. I glared at him and ducked out of the way before he could.

"See ya squirt." He said chuckling when I glared at him.

Edward and I left the apartment and headed down to the street where we started walking in the direction of Pike Place.

"So how did your talk with Emmett go?" Edward asked me, pulling me into his side. I smiled at him.

"Well. Really well. How about you and Rose?"

Edward smirked and looked down at his feet before shooting me a sideways glance. I giggled. "That well?" I asked. He chuckled.

"Just about." He said smiling. I giggled again and his grin grew wider.

"Come on baby. We don't want to be late." He said kissing my temple and rushing us through the city.

...

Our set was going exceptionally well tonight. We'd done a few covers as well as some originals and the entire club seemed to be incredibly pleased with it all. We had just finished our last song and I was bending to pick up my things when Edward stood from behind his piano and walked to the small mic set up. "Hey everyone." His smooth voice filled the room and all eyes were trained on him. I looked up at him curiously. "I know we said that was the last song, but I have one more that I want to share. It's something I've been working on and it's dedicated to the woman I love more than anything else in this world." He said looking over at me. I felt myself gasp and settle down on my stool, too stunned to stand. Edward smiled at me and walked over, bending to give me a sweet kiss before picking up his guitar and settling himself on a stool in front of the mic and started strumming.

Settle down with me  
Cover me up  
Cuddle me in  
Lie down with me  
Hold me in your arms

Your heart's against my chest  
Lips pressed to my neck  
I've fallen for your eyes  
But they don't know me yet

And the feeling I forget  
I'm in love now

Kiss me like you wanna be loved  
Wanna be loved  
Wanna be loved

This feels like I've fallen in love  
Fallen in love  
Fallen in love

Settle down with me  
And I'll be your safety  
You'll be my lady

I was made to keep your body warm  
But I'm cold as, the wind blows  
So hold me in your arms

My heart's against your chest  
Your lips pressed to my neck  
I've fallen for your eyes  
But they don't know me yet

And the feeling I forget  
I'm in love now

Kiss me like you wanna be loved  
Wanna be loved  
Wanna be loved

This feels like I've fallen in love  
Fallen in love  
Fallen in love

Yeah I've been feeling everything  
From hate to love  
From love to lust  
From lust to truth  
I guess that's how I know you

So hold you close  
To help you give it up

So kiss me like you wanna be loved  
Wanna be loved  
Wanna be loved

I felt my heart hammer in my chest as he sang. Tears swam in my eyes and I felt like I was on the verge of weeping. He set down his guitar and simultaneously I launched myself across the stage at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. Around us I could hear the club cheering for us but I paid them no mind. I was too focused on the man I loved.

"What did you think?" Edward asked quietly. I looked up at him and shook my head.

"I don't have words. That was beautiful. That was so beautiful." I whimpered. He smiled and kissed me.

"It's because you inspired it baby." He whispered. I slapped at a tear that had wandered down my cheek.

"I love you." I whispered. He smiled and kissed me again.

"I love you too baby." He said gently.

We eventually pulled away from each other, long enough to get off the damn stage to have a little more privacy.

I spotted Em and Rose sitting at a small table with Alice and some blond guy I'd never seen before. We made our way over to them and Alice jumped up and hugged us both.

"That was so romantic I swooned!" She gushed. I laughed and looked at Edward. He was constantly making me swoon.

"That was pretty smooth." Emmett admitted reluctantly. I laughed and rolled my eyes as Edward and I sat with them.

"It was sincere." He said kissing my cheek. Rose and Alice exchanged glances.

"Oh! Edward, Bella, this is my date, Mike. Mike this is my best friend Bella and her Edward." Alice said motioning to us. Her Edward. Yeah, I liked that.

"Nice to meet you two." Mike said giving me an overly friendly smile. I nodded to him, not wanting to be rude, but shifted closer to Edward all the same.

"You as well." Edward said pulling an arm around me. I felt secure in his embrace.

"Guys that was a fantastic set." Rose said ignoring the sudden awkwardness at the table. I looked at her thankful for the topic change.

"Thanks." I said looking at Edward proudly. "I think so too."

We all talked about the music we played and Emmett was even able to put in a request for us to learn some of his favourite songs. I told him we'd give a try but couldn't promise on turning any power ballads into soft duets.

"Bella." I felt a hand land on my shoulder and looked up at Angela, one of the waitresses who worked there.

"Hey Ange. What's up?" I asked.

"There is a man by the bar asking about you. He seems to know you pretty well." She said giving me a small smile. I looked past her and froze.

"Oh god." I groaned. The table fell silent and I could feel Edward's curiosity at my reaction. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Emmett stiffen.

"What's he doing here?" He asked. I stood up and my feet carried me across the room to the bar.

The man turned to look at me as I approached and his usually warm brown eyes were dark and serious. "Hey Bells." He said watching me warily. I smiled at him and behind me, I could feel Edward walk up and wrap an arm around my waist. He glared at Edward and I sighed.

"This is Edward." I said quietly. "Edward this is Charlie. My dad."

**Song is Kiss Me - Ed Sheeran **


	7. Chapter 7 Dream A Little Dream of Me

**Happy Valentines Day all!**

CHAPTER SEVEN

DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME

* * *

-EDWARD-

I had envisioned the exact way I was going to introduce myself to Bella's father. I had it all planned out because I knew that first impressions were important and I knew how much Chief Swan's opinion counted to his daughter. I was going to be smooth, gentlemanly, and above all, respectful.

But I hadn't expected him to just show up out of nowhere.

So when Bella introduced me to her dad by the bar in the middle of the Pink Door, my mind completely went blank of all my careful planning.

"Oh." I said as she explained who he was. _Oh?_ That's all I could think of?!

"Oh." Chief Swan repeated. I could feel the hole I was digging myself in and scrambled to pull myself out.

"It's nice to meet you sir. I didn't know you'd be coming tonight." I said trying to pull myself together. I reached out to shake his hand. His grip was firm, but nothing I couldn't handle.

"I wanted to surprise my daughter." He said gruffly. I nodded and glanced at Bella who looked half scared and half annoyed.

"I'm surprised." She said giving him a curious glare. He nodded.

"Yeah, me too." He said giving me a pointed glare. I shifted. Did he not know about me?

"Calm down dad." Bella snapped after a moment. "You know that I feel strongly for Edward." She said glancing at me a moment. "Don't make this a big deal." She whispered. Oh. They were talking about my very public declaration of love to her.

"You hardly know the boy Bells." Chief Swan said looking down at his daughter with a frown.

"You're wrong dad. I'm not a child anymore. I love him."

Though I had heard the words many times from her, having her declare the feelings to her father made me swell with pride.

He shuffled uncomfortably at her declaration and looked over at me wearily. Bella sighed. "We can talk about this later dad. How are you?" She asked reaching up to hug him. He hugged her back and I could see a flash of something on his face, but the emotions were too complex for me to understand.

"I'm fine Bells." He said gently. She nodded and motioned to our table. "Come sit with us. You can meet Rose and Alice's date, Mike." She said leading him to our table. He followed behind her apprehensively.

As he approached the table, I could see him visibly relax when he saw Emmett.

"Hey Charlie." Emmett said standing to slap hands with him in a surprisingly young and carefree handshake. Chief Swan gave Emmett an easy smile and I couldn't help feeling jealous at their easy relationship.

"When are you two coming home again?" Charlie asked trying to take the seat between Bella and me. Bella glared at him and maneuvered her way between us so that Charlie was between her and Mike. Charlie sent her a look but turned to Emmett for an answer.

"Soon Charlie. I promised ma that we'd come back for Maggie's baby shower next month." Emmett said, slinging an arm around Rose's shoulders and smiling. "Charlie have you met Rose yet?" He asked.

"I don't think I've had the honor." He said giving her a warm smile. Rose sent me a smirk and then turned on the charm on the Chief.

"It's so good to meet you Chief Swan. I hear so much about you from Emmett and Alice and Bella." She said smiling. The Chief blushed.

"Pleased to meet you Rose. Please call me Charlie and don't listen to anything these kids say about me." He said giving Emmett a playful glare.

"Ah Charlie you're killing me here! I told Rose you just the coolest sheriff in town." He said grinning like the cat who ate the canary. "Not every Sheriff will get up an sing karaoke at your birthday you know." Emmett said laughing. The table burst into laughter and even Charlie, who looked uncomfortable, chuckled along.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. There will be no repeat performances." He said shaking his head.

"Well not till little Bells gets married. We have you under contractual obligation to sing at her wedding." Emmett said pointing to Bella.

The atmosphere shifted and Bella gave me a small smile while Charlie, who seemed to have forgotten me, turned to glare in my direction.

"Charlie did I tell you that Mike here works for the Seattle police department?" Alice chirped. Bella sent her a grateful glance and then turned to me. Alice continued to deter the conversation and Bella reached up to speak against my neck.

"I'm sorry he's being such an ass. He'll come around." She promised. My skin tingled at her touch and I shuddered. What was she even saying?

She smiled at me knowingly and I took a deep breath.

"You're going to destroy me." I whispered. She looked up at me with her big doe eyes and bit down on her full pouting lower lip.

"Who me?" Her tone was so soft, and if it wasn't for the glint in her eyes, I would have believed the act. My pants suddenly got incredibly tight and I shifted in my seat. I was about to respond when I noticed Chief Swan's eyes were trained on me. I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself as Bella smirked beside me.

"So Chief Swan, how long are you in town?" I asked. He looked at Bella who looked at him curiously.

"Well I was thinking of staying through until the weekend." He said shrugging. "That's alright isn't Bells?" He asked looking at her. She bit her lip again, but this time it wasn't with the intent of seducing. This time she looked nervous.

"Charlie you can stay with me. Rose is moving in tomorrow but we've got the guest room all ready and waiting for you." Emmett said quickly. Bella sent him a thankful glance and he nodded. What was that about?

"Okay thanks Emmett." Charlie said, sounding confused.

"Nah that works out perfectly. The Seahawks are playing the Chicago bears tomorrow. We can out number Edward on our own turf." Emmett said smirking at me. We'd been talking about the game for a while now. We were both big fans of football and both incredibly loyal to our teams.

"You're a Bears man?" Charlie asked me. I nodded.

"Yes Sir, born and raised. My family is from Chicago." I explained. He nodded slowly.

"Not a bad team." He said finally. Both Emmett and Bella grinned at me as if he had just approved of me. Maybe he had?

We stayed for another hour or so before Bella excused us. Charlie stood.

"Should I drive you home Bells?" Charlie asked eyeing me. I stared at him in confusion but Bella spoke before I could ask.

"No dad, Edward's got it." She said giving him a tight smile. "Have a good night, I'll see you for the game okay?" She asked. Charlie nodded and accepted the hug she gave him before he turned to me. He frowned and reached out to shake my hand. I gave him a small smile.

"It was great to meet you Chief Swan." I said politely. He grunted.

"Yeah." He said not responding further. I sighed and smiled at Bella who came to my side.

"Let's get the instruments then head out of here." She said waving one final goodbye at all our friends then leading me across the club. We gathered our things and headed out to the car.

"Your dad hates me." I said setting our guitars in my car. Bella looked up at me and frowned.

"No, yes, well no. Ugh." She tossed her bag down in the back and shoved her hands in her hair. "My dad is a stubborn asshole sometimes." She said leaning against my car. I packed up our things then moved around to look at her. "I haven't told him we're living together yet." She admitted. "It's not that I'm embarrassed or ashamed of it or anything. My dad just gets incredibly over protective and he wouldn't understand. I meant to tell him before we went to go see him in the semi near future, but he's beaten me to it." She continued. I wrapped my arms around her and brought her to my chest, kissing the top of her head. She sagged against me.

"Don't worry baby. I'm not mad or anything. I understand." I said quietly. "I'm not sure I've told my parents either, but that's more out of protecting you than anything else." I said chuckling lightly. She looked up at me curiously and I smiled. "My mom would be out here the same day I told her, demanding to meet you. She'd hog you for days on end trying to bond and I'm sure if you didn't snap early on, I would. My mom can be a bit, zealous." I said smirking. Bella giggled and reached up to kiss me.

"One day soon we'll tell all our parents." She said finally. I nodded.

"Soon." I agreed. "Until then, we have a completely empty apartment to go home to." I said hugging her close. She grinned.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" She asked dragging her nails down my shoulders and back. I shivered under the light touch and felt my pants grew tight again.

"Nothing. Get in the car." I growled. She giggled happily and I couldn't help but smirk. We would tell our parents about us soon, but right now I had a girlfriend to completely ravish.

...

"God I'm tired." Bella sighed curling into me. I wrapped my arms around her tighter.

"Wore you out huh?" I asked smirking. Really I couldn't talk; I was just as exhausted as she was.

"As I seem to recall it was you panting for breath five minutes ago." Bella said looking up at me. I chuckled.

"At least I could catch my breath." I replied. She smiled up at me and then rest her head on my shoulder.

I could feel more than hear her humming and I let my fingers trail through her long hair. Eventually the song came out in a soft whisper and it brought tears to my eyes.

"Stars shining bright above you;  
Night breezes seem to whisper I love you.  
Birds singing in the sycamore tree.  
Dream a little dream of me.

Say nighty-night and kiss me;  
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me.  
While I'm alone, blue as can be,  
Dream a little dream of me.

Stars fading but I linger on, dear,  
Still craving your kiss.  
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear,

Just saying this...

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you,  
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you.  
But in your dreams, whatever they be,  
Dream a little dream of me.

Stars fading but I linger on, dear,  
Still craving your kiss.  
I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear,  
Just saying this...

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you-  
Sweet dreams that leave all worries far behind you.  
But in your dreams, whatever they be,  
Dream a little dream of me."

"The Mamas and the Papas?" I asked her. She smiled.

"Technically no. They just did a cover of the song. The original was recorded in 1931 by Ozzie Nelson. The Mamas and the Papas did a cover in 1968." She explained. I smiled and bent to kiss the hollow behind her ear.

"I love that you know that." I whispered.

"I've always loved that song." She admitted. I nodded.

"Me too."

She looked up at me again and gave me a small smile. "Will you dream a little dream of me?" She asked.

"Bella, there is nothing else I can possibly dream of." I told her honestly. She seemed pleased with that answer and kissed me once more before snuggling down.

"Good night Edward." She yawned. I smiled to myself and let my fingers keep trailing through her hair.

"Good night my Bella."

...

There was a knocking, somewhere beyond my consciousness and I twitched in my sleep, trying to block it out.

In my arms, Bella groaned and rolled over.

"Shut up!" She whined. I couldn't help my smile, but kept my eyes firmly shut.

"Just ignore it baby." I whispered. My phone started ringing that moment and I groaned.

"Ain't no rest for the wicked." Bella said getting up. I cracked an eye open and looked up at her. She was moving around the room, putting on one of my shirts and a pair of panties. "If it's Alice I'm going to need a lawyer." She said yawning.

"Why's that?" I asked yawning myself. Bella smirked.

"Because I'm about to kill her." She said shaking her head and walking out of the room. I chuckled and flopped back on my bed.

I listened for Alice or Emmett's voice, wondering who it was that was here and what the hell they were doing here this early. I heard the front door open and then silence. I sat up and frowned. I couldn't hear anything and that worried me. Who was at the door?

Getting out of bed, I slipped on a pair of boxers and walked out of the room. Bella wasn't at the door and I frowned. "Baby?" I called.

"In the kitchen Edward." Bella yelled. Her voice sounded shaky and I frowned. I walked into the kitchen and froze.

"Mom? Dad?" I asked shocked. Mom looked at me and barely hid her massive grin.

"Edward darling we were just speaking to your lovely girlfriend here. We didn't expect to meet her so soon. This is quite exciting." Mom said rushing over to hug me. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah, not that I'm not thrilled to see you guys, but what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I told you he'd forget Esme." Dad said smirking at me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bella sneak away, probably to get dressed.

"Honestly Edward, your memory has been horrible lately!" Mom admonished. "We've been planning this visit since you moved out here! Remember? We had originally planned it for April but when we ended up flying to London for that art show, plans changed around. We wanted to be here for your birthday." She said shaking her head at me. I sighed.

"I'm sorry mom. I just spaced." I said distractedly. She rolled her eyes.

"Well is it still alright for us to stay with you or should we get a hotel?" Dad asked eyeing me curiously. I fought back my blush.

"It's fine. Of course you guys are welcome here. Let me just get dressed real quick? Help yourself to anything." I said waving around vaguely. They both nodded and I bolted back to my room. Bella was in the shower when I got back and I ripped my boxers off and ran in to join her. She whirled around surprised and glared at me.

"Oh no you don't!" She said shaking her head. "We don't have time and I'm so not having sex while your parents are here." She snapped. I chuckled.

"As much as that idea appeals to me, I'm only here to shower." I said smiling at her. She continued to glare at me.

"Why didn't you tell me your parents were coming to visit?" She asked turning around to reach for the shampoo. I took it from her and started washing her hair for her.

"I'm sorry baby. I completely forgot." I said shrugging. She sighed.

"What an insane weekend." She groaned. I chuckled.

"Tell me about it." I said shaking my head. I washed Bella's hair then quickly did my own and we hopped out of the shower a few minutes later. It was really difficult to keep my hands to myself, but somehow I managed.

We quickly dressed and I headed back out to the kitchen. It smelled heavenly in there.

"I made you kids some breakfast. I figured you haven't eaten yet." Dad said motioning to the massive plate of bacon and eggs. I smiled.

"Where's mom?" I asked.

"She's making sure that Jasper's plane got in alright." He said waving toward the living room.

"Jasper's plane?" I asked picking up a piece of bacon and biting into it.

"Yes it was meant to be a surprise but I figured you've had enough surprises for a while." He said chuckling. I nodded

"You have no idea." I grumbled. Dad looked at me curiously and I sighed. "Bella's dad showed up last night to surprise her. I was so off guard I made a complete fool of myself." I said shaking my head.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Dad said chuckling. I shook my head.

"Just you wait." I said smirking. "We're going over to a friends tonight to watch the game. Can I count you in?" I asked. Dad grinned.

"Sounds like fun. They all Seahawks fans?" He asked. I smirked again.

"Yeah, I'm outnumbered without you there." I said chuckling. Dad laughed.

"Then definitely count me in."

Bella wandered into the kitchen and I smiled at her. She looked flawless in a soft floral dress.

"Hey." I said smiling at her. "You look beautiful." She blushed at my compliment of course.

"Thanks. It smells delicious." She said looking around curiously.

"Thank you. I can't cook much, but I've mastered the art of frying bacon." Dad said chuckling. She smiled at him.

"I didn't say it earlier because I think I was in shock, but it's very nice to meet you Dr. Cullen." She said reaching out to shake his hand. He smiled at her.

"Really Bella, the pleasure is all mine. And call me Carlisle. I only make the people I don't like call me Dr. Cullen." He said giving her his most charming smile. I rolled my eyes at him and he smirked.

Mom came back into the kitchen and gushed over Bella and her dress. Bella looked only slightly uncomfortable but smiled politely and was the epitome of grace and poise as she spoke with my parents. I couldn't help but be jealous. In the span of a heart beat, Bella had completely won over my parents while I had seemed to only make the Chief hate me more last night.

I'd just have to make sure that changed tonight.

...

"Now just a heads up, Emmett and Alice are kind of loud." Bella said looking back at mom and dad. "And incredibly overwhelming at times. Feel free to tell them to get lost, they won't be offended." She said smiling. My parents both laughed. Bella had them completely smitten with her.

"I think we'll be okay." Mom said grinning widely. "I'm excited to meet everyone."

"Okay, just remember that when we go in." Bella said laughing. My parents grinned and Bella opened the door to Emmett's apartment.

"Hey!" She called. Inside it sounded like a hundred people were already there.

"Bells?" Emmett yelled.

We all walked into the living room and everyone grinned.

"Mom! Dad!" Rose said jumping up and running over to greet our parents.

"Hi Rosie!" Mom said squeezing her. I turned to Chief Swan who looked confused.

"Chief Swan, these are our parents." I said waving to my mom and dad. "Esme and Carlisle Cullen." I turned to my parents who were still embracing Rose, but paying attention to what I was saying. "Mom and dad, this is Bella's dad, Chief Swan." I said introducing them.

"Chief Swan, it's so nice to meet you." Dad said smiling. The Chief looked confused again.

"Rosie and Edward are your kids?" He asked. Dad chuckled.

"Yes, two of three." Dad confirmed. Bella's dad nodded slowly.

"I had no idea you two were related." He said eyeing me. I gave a light shrug.

"Yeah I forgot to mention that last night." Bella said quickly jumping in. The Chief nodded gruffly.

"Well it's nice to meet you two. Call me Charlie." He said turning back to my parents.

"Oh we're so happy to meet you as well!" Mom gushed. "Bella is an amazing young woman. We're so happy that she's in Edward's life."

The Chief gave her a small smile and then looked at me as if appraising me. Bella rolled her eyes behind him.

Emmett and Alice were introduced to my parents and were both loud and slightly obnoxious as promised. I don't think my parents minded very much though. They seemed to fall in easily with the loud rambunctious bunch.

"What time does the game start?" Dad asked, accepting a beer from Emmett.

"Twenty minutes." Emmett replied, handing me a beer as well. Rose and Alice had navigated away to help mom make some food and Bella had plopped herself down right next to me on the sofa.

"You watching the game?" I asked offering her some of my beer. She took a sip and smiled at me.

"I always watch the game. It's a Swan/McCarthy tradition that dates back nearly twenty two years." She said chuckling. I laughed.

"So does that mean you're a Seahawks fan?" I asked cringing over dramatically.

"You bet your ass it does." She said grinning. I laughed and shook my head.

"Nope, sorry, this relationship isn't going to work anymore." I joked. She just stuck her tongue out at me.

I was tempted to catch her tongue with my mouth, but the stern look her father was sending me halted that action.

The game was awesome. My Bears led the first half 21-10 and by half time, Emmett, Bella and the Chief were all so worked up they wouldn't talk to dad or me. Of course, just because she wasn't talking to me didn't mean that we couldn't make out. We'd snuck away during half time for a moment of privacy where Bella practically pinned me down and proceeded to completely take my breath away. The ache in my pants was so intense I thought I was going to pass out. I needed her. _Now_.

I fumbled for the zipper on her dress and she stepped away from me giving me a sharp glare.

"So not happening." She hissed. I groaned.

"Please don't leave me like this." I whimpered. She grinned and I knew then and there I was in trouble.

"Like what?" She purred coming closer to me and rubbing her body against mine. I moaned.

"Christ." I hissed reaching for her again. She glared at me.

"Hands on the wall." She ordered. I smacked my hands back against the wall behind me. I'd do anything for her so long as I got her in the end. "Tell me what's wrong." She purred in my ear. My knees buckled slightly and I let out a sharp breath.

"Bella." I whimpered. I was a mess. I big hormonal mess and it was all her doing. She smiled and licked the shell of my ear.

"Remember we can't have sex at home while your parents are here." She whispered. I was ready to kick my parents to the curb. I didn't care; I'd do anything to have her.

"What about here?" I pleaded. She giggled.

"With my dad just outside this room?" She asked. We were locked in the spare bathroom and had only the guest room separating us from the living room where everyone was still gathered.

"Bella." I moaned again, desperately needing her. She brought her hands up around my neck and pulled herself up to kiss me. My hands moved from the wall and wrapped around her, pulling her to me. I could feel her caving into my request and I almost died in anticipation.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door that nearly scared the life out of me.

"Hey you two. Game's back on. If you don't get out here in two minutes I think Charlie might personally skin you Edward." Alice said through the door.

I almost cried. Bella pried herself away from me and gave me a small apologetic smile.

"Sorry stud." She said smirking. "We'll have to put a pin in that conversation." She said straightening her dress. I couldn't really move just yet. "Who knows, if the Seahawks win, I might be in a good enough mood to change my mind about this rule while your parents are here." She said winking. She flounced out of the room and headed to the living room, leaving me panting and aching.

I gave myself five minutes to get a hold of myself before making my way out to the living room. Everyone looked at me curiously but Bella gave me an evil smirk. I sat down next to Emmett, unable to be close to Bella at the moment. She laughed from her spot on the sofa.

"What'd I miss?" I asked stiffly.

"Chicago scored another touch down." Emmett said not prying his eyes away from the screen. I internally groaned and Bella looked over at me grinning. Suddenly I was hoping my beloved Bears would lose.

**Sorry for the bit of delay with posting this chapter. I've been out of town, gallivanting around the world. :p**

**Song is "Dream A Little Dream of Me" The Mamas & The Papas cover. Link on profile.**


	8. Chapter 8 C'est La Mort

CHAPTER EIGHT

C'EST LA MORT

* * *

-BELLA-

In some sort of miraculous turn of events, the Seahawks took the Bears 31 to 28. I think Carlisle went into shock by the end of the game and though Edward looked devastated that his team had lost, the look in his eyes when he looked at me said otherwise. I couldn't help but giggle at that.

"What a great game!" Dad exclaimed finishing off his beer.

"Would have been better if the Bears had won." Carlisle joked standing up. Dad grinned at him. I was pleased to see them on good terms. Now if I could only get dad to be nicer to Edward.

"Is the game over?" Esme asked coming out into the living room. We all nodded. "Fantastic. Dinner will be ready in ten." She said clapping her hands. I chuckled and watched her whisk back to the kitchen. I looked over to see dad glaring at Edward. Fortunately Edward seemed to be oblivious as he carried on his conversation with Emmett.

"Hey dad, I forgot something down in the car. Come help me get it?" I asked standing. He looked over at me startled then nodded standing up. Edward looked up at me curiously and I held out my hand for the keys. He slid them into my palm and I gave him a small smile before dragging my dad out of the apartment.

"What's this about Bella?" Dad asked cutting straight to it. I glanced at him.

"Why are you being such an ass to Edward?" I asked as we stepped into the elevator. He took a deep breath and his gaze hardened.

"I don't know that I like him much Bella." He said giving me a stern look. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Jeez dad, he's done nothing but be incredibly kind and polite to you since you've gotten here." I said shaking my head at him.

"And how about you? How has he treated you?" Dad asked. I glared at him.

"Like I'm the world." I said stepping off the elevator and heading through the lobby. Dad easily kept pace with me. "Look dad, I know you're touchy about guys I date, but I really love Edward." Dad cringed at the word love. I ignored him and continued on. "The least you could do is give him a fair chance. He's an amazing guy and I think you'd really like him if you tried." I said reaching the car. He harrumphed.

"What are you doing Bells?" He asked watching me get into the drivers seat.

"Get in. We're going somewhere." I told him. He moved around to the passengers seat and glared at me.

"You shouldn't be driving Bells. You've been drinking." He objected.

"I've had three sips of Edward's beer and that was hours ago. I'm fine." I snapped turning on the engine. He pursed his lips but didn't say anything else.

It only took a few minutes to drive over to the apartment but by the time we got there I could see how confused my dad was.

"Where are we Bells?" He asked looking at the beautiful building.

"We're at my apartment. I moved." I said getting out of the car. He followed behind me and nodded.

"Good. I didn't like where you lived. Not a great neighborhood." He said following me inside. We got into the elevator and dad frowned. "How are you affording a place like this Bells? It's gorgeous." He asked. I just glanced at him but didn't answer.

We got out on my floor and I headed down to the front door, unlocking it and pushing it open.

"This is my home dad." I said motioning for him to go in. He went in and I saw his eyes pop open wide.

He let out a low whistle. "This is some place Bells." He said looking around. I watched him silently as he examined the living room. "What's with the piano?" He asked looking back at me.

"That's Edward's." I said simply. I watched his face as he put the pieces together. First he looked confused then it slowly dawned on him and he started to turn an alarming shade of purple before he glared at me. He took a deep breath and started returning back to normal colour but did not look happy.

"You moved in with him?" He asked in a low voice. I nodded.

"I did." I said firmly. He gave me a hard look.

"How long?" He asked.

"A little over a week." I told him. He shook his head.

"How could you do this Bella?" He sounded disappointed in me, which hurt more than I expected. "Knowing what you know," He paused and shook his head.

"Edward isn't James." I said through gritted teeth.

"You don't know that Bella." He said quietly. I felt my hands curl into fists in my frustration.

"No dad, I do know that. Edward is different. Trust me to know that." I said quietly. He sighed.

"I don't want you getting hurt again." He said quietly.

"Dad," I paused and blinked away tears. "Look at how he was today. Look at how he interacts with everyone. He's not James." I said again. Dad took a deep breath and reached a hand up to scratch his neck.

"You're really happy?" He asked looking at me.

"I'm really happy." I responded. He sighed and nodded.

"I guess it wouldn't kill me to give him a chance then." He said quietly. I smiled and walked across the room to hug him. "You know I'm just looking out for you Bells." He whispered.

"I know daddy." I whispered back. He hugged me close to him and I felt tears wet my eyes. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath before stepping away from him. He nodded, trying to regain his composure.

"Well am I getting a tour of this place or what?" He asked making me chuckle.

"Sure dad, come on."

I showed him around the apartment and even played some of our demos for him. He liked the music a lot and even liked the apartment though he was slow to admit it. I gave him a copy of our demo and he tucked it into his jacket pocket.

"I can't wait to play this for everyone back home." He said grinning. I blushed.

"Please don't. That's so embarrassing." I said shaking my head.

"Bells you gotta get used to people listening to your music." He admonished.

"Yeah but strangers. Not people I grew up with." I said scrunching up my nose. Dad laughed as we made our way out to the living room.

"Well it's a nice place you guys have got here." Dad said looking around.

"Thanks dad. Maybe next time you can stay with us." I said smiling. He nodded.

"Yeah IIt went really well. Apparently you're in love with me." He said smirking. I rolled my eyes.

"Like that's new news." I said sarcastically. He chuckled. "Did he apologize?" I asked frowning.

"In so many words." Edward said shrugging. I continued to frown. "Don't worry about it baby. He and I are good. We cleared the air and I think he might even be willing to give me a chance since he seems to love the rest of my family so much." He said chuckling. I nodded.

"Good." I said setting down my guitar. "Thank you for being amazing. I know my dad is," I paused and then smirked. "Difficult. He's just trying to make sure I don't get hurt." I said softly.

"He said you'd gotten hurt in the past." Edward said looking up at me. I froze in place.

"Yeah?" I asked, not liking how my voice was shaking.

He nodded. "He didn't say more than that, just that you'd gotten hurt before and he didn't want it to happen again. I didn't ask, I figured it was something you would tell me if you wanted to." He said quietly. I nodded. I wasn't intentionally keeping something from him; it just wasn't something I liked to talk about.

"So I made you a promise." I said changing the subject. Edward looked confused and I smiled standing up and walking over so I could straddle his hips. His body stiffened and I grinned. "My Seahawks won, and our apartment is empty right now." I whispered placing a kiss on his neck. He shuddered.

"Let's go." He growled. I giggled and slid off his lap.

"Take me home."

...

"You kids change?" Dad asked as soon as we stepped into Emmett's apartment. We had changed, but that was only because I had completely ripped off every button of Edward's shirt the instant we were in our front door and he had somehow managed to rip my dress around the zipper when it wasn't working fast enough for him.

"Of course we changed dad." I said giving him an annoyed look. "We're going to work." I said in my most obvious voice. He nodded, his features changing to be a little more understanding. Alice smirked at me behind his back.

"Well I think you look lovely." Esme said coming over to kiss my cheek. I smiled.

"Thank you Esme. Alice bought me this dress." I said throwing credit where credit was due. Alice beamed.

"It's true. Bella is especially fun to shop for. So many dark tones compliment her pale skin." Alice prattled. Esme nodded as if she understood what Alice was talking about. Maybe she did.

"I know what you mean. My sister is the exact same way. I of course got the bright red hair that skipped most people in our family so it's almost impossible sometimes to get things to work on me." Esme said falling easily into the conversation. I shook my head and smirked, walking away from their conversation. In the living room Rose was busy talking to my dad about cars. I could tell the conversation was going right over his head though he tried desperately to keep up. I couldn't help my chuckle. My dad was smitten with Rose.

We all hung around the apartment for about an hour before Edward and I decided to get going.

To my surprise, everyone decided to go with us.

Carlisle and Esme decided to ride with Jasper and Alice in Jasper's rental car and my dad hopped in with Emmett and Rose. Edward and I got into his car and I smiled at him.

"This is kind of cool." I said twirling my fingers in my lap. "I've always wanted to play for family." I said smiling. Edward nodded.

"I agree. I think we should do our new song tonight." He said looking over at me. I stared at him in surprise.

"Are you sure? We haven't finished it." I protested. Edward smirked.

"Like that matters. You know as well as I do that once we start playing it it'll probably go in a completely different direction. It's still really fluid and the few lyrics we do have mean a lot to me. I want to sing it to you in front of our family."

I felt my eyes tear at his confession.

"I want to sing it to you in front of our family too." I whispered. The words 'our family' sent tingles across my skin. I liked saying those words.

...

"Tonight is really special for us." Edward said into his mike. I looked at him and smiled. "Tonight both of our families are here to support us and we can't think of a better time to unveil a song we've been working on." He continued. "I hope you all like this. It's a song for my love."

We started playing and I looked over at Edward, feeling all my emotions rush to the surface as he sang.

"Swan dive down eleven stories high

Hold your breath until you see the light

You can sink to the bottom of the sea

Just don't go without me

Go get lost where no one can be found

Drink so long and deep until you drown

Say your goodbyes, but darlin' if you please,

Don't go without me.

C'est la vie, c'est la mort.

(It is life, it is death.)

You and me,

Forevermore.

Let's walk down the road that has no end.

Steal away where only angels tread.

Heaven or hell or somewhere in between

Cross your heart to take me when you leave.

Don't go... Please don't go. Don't go without me."

Tears streamed down my face as we sang and I felt my heart thump in my chest. God I loved that man. I knew it didn't make sense. We'd only known each other for three months. Never before had I even opened up to someone so quickly. I was usually such a guarded person but Edward just walked past all my defense walls and into my heart, without even an effort. In the back of my mind I registered that everyone was applauding us, but I could only focus on the amazing man sitting behind the piano.

When we came off stage I still had tears blurring my eyes. I wiped at them futilely and looked at Edward who was walking over to me, concern in his beautiful green eyes.

"You okay?" He asked reaching out to cup my face in his hands. I sighed.

"I'm just a little emotional." I said trying to smile. He smirked and reached down to kiss my cheeks.

"I love you Bella." He whispered. I took a deep, shuttering breath.

"I love you too." I whispered leaning into his hands. He smiled and bent down to kiss me, effectively stealing the air from my body. I swooned into him and felt his arms wrap around me, keeping me close to him.

"Come on baby, I think our family is waiting for us." He said finally pulling away from me. I sighed and nodded.

"You're right." I said standing up straight and fixing my dress. He smiled at me and took my hand in his, bringing it up to kiss my knuckles before leading us to our families.

A woman in a crisp white suit stepped in front of us on our way over and offered up a dazzling smile. Her long blond hair was perfectly styled and lying over her shoulder in soft waves and her lips were painted the perfect bright red. Her icy blue eyes were incredibly striking as she looked over Edward.

"Edward?" She asked. He nodded, glancing at me curiously. I gave him a small shrug and he turned back to the woman.

"Yes?" He asked slowly. She smiled wider and held out her hand to him.

"My name is Jane Brooklyn. I'm with Volturi Records. I'd like to sit and talk with you if you have a moment." She said coolly. Edward stared at her in shock.

"Yes of course!" He said grinning. I felt myself in shock. A scout from one of biggest record companies in Seattle? My heart felt like it was going to pound right out of my chest.

"Wonderful, let's take a seat." She said motioning to a table set in a small alcove. In the tightly packed club, it was about as intimate as the tables got. We sat down and Jane sent me an annoyed glance but immediately turned her attention to Edward. "I want to cut straight to it Edward. You've been on our radar for some time now and we want to give you a shot." She said crossing one leg over the other and flipping back her blond hair.

"Volturi Records wants us?" Edward asked open mouthed. Jane pursed her lips.

"No. I'm afraid we aren't interested in duets at the moment. The deal is for one." She said giving me a cool glare. Edward frowned and turned to look at me.

"This is an amazing opportunity for you baby." I whispered. Sure I was bummed I wasn't being offered the same deal, but I would never want Edward to turn one down because I didn't get one. This was major.

He turned back to Jane and smiled softly. "What did this deal entail?" He asked. Jane smiled and pulled a slim folder from her large white purse.

"Let me show you." She said sliding it over to Edward.

...

The deal was amazing. More than amazing, it would completely set up his career.

I could see how overwhelmed he was, but he handled himself professionally and with confidence. He told Jane he'd need a few days to consider her offer and look over all the fine print. She nodded and slid him her business card, giving him a look that I could only describe as sultry. She left shortly after, barely sparing a second glance at me. I didn't care. I was focused on Edward anyway.

"How are you?" I asked softly. Edward stared at me and shook his head.

"I'm in shock." He whispered. I smiled.

"I think our families are still waiting for us." I whispered rubbing my hands across his cheeks. "Let's go be with them. We can talk about this later." I promised, reaching up to give him a sweet kiss. He sighed and nodded, pulling himself together.

"You're right. I'm sorry I'm so out of it. Let's go be with them." He said taking my hand in his and standing. I smiled at him and he returned the act. "Bella." He said softly. I looked up at him curiously. "Baby I want you to know that you come first." He said gently. "I'm not going to make any decision without considering you first." He said reaching up to cup my face. I shook my head.

"Don't promise me that." I said quietly. "I want you to make the decision that you want to make, I want it to be what's best for you. It's okay if that means I'm not apart of it." Even as the words came out of my mouth my heart threatened to shatter.

"Is that what you think?" He asked angrily. I stared at him in surprise. "You think that a best possible future for me would be without you?" He asked sharply. I looked down.

"I just don't want you to regret not doing something because of me." I said not answering him.

"Do you think your best possible future is without me?" His voice was soft and heart broken and even the thought of such a future made me panic.

"God no!" I practically wailed. "I don't want any future without you in it." I said urgently. He smiled and leaned down then to kiss me.

"Then you see where I'm coming from." He said against my lips. I didn't respond because it was pointless at the moment. We wouldn't get anywhere running this conversation in circles and right now we had family to get back to. So instead I gave him a small smile and with a silent promise between us we decided to leave the conversation for later.

Instead we joined our family and ignored questions about the curious meeting with the stranger. Everyone could see that we didn't want to talk about it, so thankfully they kept the questions to themselves.

We left sometime later, though I couldn't say when exactly. I was too focused on what I wanted to say to Edward about this deal that I couldn't really pay attention to anything else.

"Thank you so much for such a great day." Esme said reaching to pull me into a hug. I snapped out of my thoughts and smiled at her, hugging her back.

_Get it together Bella._

"Of course, I'm so glad you had a good time." I said trying to sound as enthusiastic as I felt. Despite all the overwhelming thoughts, I was incredibly glad to meet Edward's parents this weekend.

"I'm so glad he found you." She said cupping my face in hers. "I've never seen him like this. He's so happy and it's all because of you."

I felt like I was going to burst into tears so I didn't say anything. She smiled and kissed my cheeks before turning to Edward. Carlisle smiled at me and brought me into a hug, murmuring the same thing his wife had. They both smiled at Edward and me before retreating to the guest room. I looked up at Edward who gave me a small smile and held out his hand to me. I reached out and took it and he silently led us into our room.

"What are you thinking?" He asked quietly. I couldn't concentrate on anything when he was looking at me like that so I turned away from him and started undressing, seeking out an old college shirt of his that I wore to bed.

"I don't know." I whispered, trying to reach around to yank on the zipper of my dress. Edward was behind me instantly, his large hands stilling my own and pulling down the zipper for me. "Thanks." I whispered, shivering from his touch. I stepped away and pulled off the dress, taking it to the hamper in the closet. I pulled off my bra and hung it up before slipping on his shirt. I turned around to the room and he was sitting on our bed, watching me with an expression I didn't understand. "What are you thinking?" I asked.

"I'm thinking I'm in love with you and there is no way I'm going to be able to do anything without you." He said softly. Tears sprang to my eyes and I reached up to swipe them away.

"But I don't want to hold you back." I whispered.

"And I don't want to hold you back baby, but my plans, my goals and aspirations in life, they've all changed. They are all completely centered around you." He told me. My heart skipped a beat. I knew I wanted to be with him forever, but I hadn't been holding out hope that he had wanted the same thing. I couldn't. He was too talented, too amazing to be stuck with me. "I want you Bella." His words cut through me and before I knew it, I was across the room in his lap, holding on to him as tight as possible.

"You have me." I mumbled against his lips. His strong arms were around me and he sighed, tugging me even closer to him.

"I meant what we sang tonight baby." He said pulling away enough to look me in the eye. "You and me, forevermore." He said earnestly.

Tears ran down my face and I nodded. "Forevermore." I repeated. He leaned in to kiss me but I pulled away. "So where does that leave us with this offer?" I asked quietly.

"They want me to start recording." He said quietly. "I'd be happy to do that because that's done here in Seattle. But they also want me to tour with some other groups, open for them and get my name out there." He said gently. I nodded. "I'm not going to be able to handle tour without you." He said firmly. I smiled and kissed him hard.

"I'd go with you." I offered. His eyes lit up.

"You'd really be okay with that?" He asked. I nodded and wound my fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp. He moaned and his eyes shut a moment.

"Of course I would baby. I mean I probably have enough in savings to travel around the country, but if you wanted me there, I would be." I said shrugging. Edward shook his head.

"If you went with me the cost would be covered. I'd make sure of that." He said firmly.

I nodded. "Though I'd feel kind of silly not having anything to do all day. I'd probably want to get a job while traveling." I said thinking of all the different possibilities. I'd written for the paper in college, maybe I could give that a try again.

"Whatever you want baby. Let's see if we can't wear them down for a duet contract." He said smirking at me. I grinned and kissed him hard.

"Even if that never happens for me, I'm so happy for you." I told him earnestly.

"I know you are baby." He said softly. "So we're really doing this?" He asked. I nodded.

"We really are." I confirmed. He pulled me closer to him and leaned in to kiss me. I moaned against him and I felt him stirring beneath me. "No, we can't do that." I said breaking away from him. His arms were wrapped tightly around my waist though so I didn't go far.

"What?" He looked like I'd just kicked his puppy. I giggled and gave him a light kiss.

"Your parents are in the guest room, and as your sister pointed out, our walls are much too thin." I said shaking my head. Edward gave me a wicked look that pretty much ruined my panties.

"What if I make sure they can't hear us?" He asked, trailing his hands across my back. I shivered under his touch.

"You know that's damn near impossible." I moaned. Already I could tell I was getting too loud. Edward grinned and leaned in to kiss me again.

"Challenge accepted Miss Swan."

**Song C'est La Mort - The Civil Wars. Link on Profile**


	9. Chapter 9 I'll Find A Way

**I want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone reading. Really I appreciate it so much. **

**As I am still new to writing, and even newer to fan fiction, I'm a bit, unsure of myself in my writing. Your lovely reviews really give me the confidence to continue.**

**A did get a few concerns about this being a 'typical' plot line. I'm sorry if you feel that way. I'm trying to make sure that my story is as original as possible, but obviously, there are so many stories out there it'd be almost impossible to be sure. While I can't promise you haven't read a different version of this story before, I can assure you that I am doing my best to make this original and personal. The conflict coming up in this story, in my opinion, is not expected, which makes it even more difficult. Please enjoy and thank you for reading!**

**-Ella**

CHAPTER NINE

I'LL FIND A WAY

* * *

-EDWARD-

I drummed my fingers on the table anxiously, waiting for Bella to arrive. We were supposed to be meeting for lunch today and I had some really important news to tell her.

I'd signed the contract with Volturi Records a month ago and I'd gotten immediately to work on putting together a record. The company had provided me with a manager, but after working with Alec for a month, I'd politely informed him and the company that he was going to be replaced. He was juggling too much and he didn't care about me. I was a no name newbie and he had his sights on bigger fish. Jane had consented the change, though she hadn't been happy about it, and I'd managed to convince her that I could find a suitable manager who would do exceptional work.

She had no idea I was talking about Bella.

Though Bella was nothing except polite to Jane, we both got the feeling that Jane really didn't like Bella. My love had a theory that it was because Jane wanted me, but I didn't like to think about that. I didn't want anyone but Bella.

I glanced down at my watch impatiently. She was running slightly late but more than that, I was anxious to see her again. I had been spending crazy hours at the studio lately and though she had tried to come with me in the beginning, she had stopped coming as frequently. She had said that Jane's constant underhanded comments and looks were not worth the aggravation. I had been more than a little disappointed.

"Hey baby, I'm so sorry I'm late. I was just on the phone with Victoria." Her sweet voice cut through my thoughts and I looked up at her and couldn't help my smile. She was wearing jeans and a simple dark purple blouse that I loved on her. She looked amazing and she wasn't even trying.

"Hey." I said standing and pulling her to me. She giggled but didn't protest as I leaned down to kiss her. She snaked her arms up my chest and I felt her fingers wind in my hair. God I loved this woman. "God I miss you." I said when I finally pulled away from her. She smiled and reached up to kiss me again.

"I miss you too baby." She whispered. I smiled and pulled her down next to me in the booth.

"So how is Victoria?" I asked.

"She's good, still bitching about us having to quite playing for her." Bella rolled her eyes and I knew that despite Victoria's complaining, she was actually happy for us. "She says hi by the way." Another eye roll told me that Bella was certain that hi was meant to be flirtatious. "She also said she wants us to come in when we can and check out her new act. She said they aren't as great, but the get the job done."

I smiled. "That sounds great." I said honestly. Bella nodded and curled into my side as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"How has your day been?" She asked. I sighed.

"Crazy. I finally got rid of Alec." I told her running a hand through my hair.

"Yeah? Who are you going to replace him with?" She asked curiously. I smiled at her and cocked my head to the side.

"How would you feel about it?" I asked softly. She gasped, her eyes wide.

"What?" She asked. I nodded and took her hands in mine.

"I trust you more than anyone else in this world. Plus, that means you'd be working while on the road." I said smiling. We had plans to start touring in just one short month. It was almost no time to cut any sort of demo, but the label just wanted me to have something small, an EP to get the hype going about who I was as a musician.

"You really want me to be your manager?" She asked. I nodded.

"Only if you want to baby. If you'd rather do something else I can find someone," She cut me off.

"Of course I'll do it." She said grinning. "You think I'd let just anyone take care of you?" She asked raising an eyebrow. I couldn't help how good those words made me feel and I grinned.

"God I love you." I said swooping in to kiss her again. She giggled.

"I love you too." She murmured against my lips. I smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her.

"What do you want for lunch?" I asked handing her a menu. She smirked.

"Nothing that's on the menu." She said giving me a sexy as hell look. I groaned. Yeah, I had really missed my girl.

"Why don't we take something home?" I suggested. She grinned and kissed me again, her tongue sweeping against mine.

"That's a great idea."

…

Jane hadn't said a word about Bella being my manager when I had announced it the next morning, but it was clear she wasn't happy about it. I didn't really care though because as far as our contract was concerned, she had absolutely no say in it.

Working with Bella was a dream come true. Of course I would have preferred that it was _us_ making music together, but since the label was only interested in me, I'd have to hold off on that dream for now.

We were in the recording studio most days, working tirelessly on new material for me to record. Bella offered up our songs and I had told her absolutely not. I wasn't going to use those until we were cutting our own album.

So instead I struggled to come up with my own songs.

Of course everything I did write was about and inspired by Bella. She was my muse, one hundred percent. I knew without her I'd be nothing spectacular.

I was sitting at the piano, staring at Bella through the glass of the recording studio. Jane was standing next to her, looking irritated but I ignored her. Bella gave me a small smile then frowned, reaching into her pocket to retrieve her phone. She frowned at the number and answered the call. I stopped playing when her face grew more confused. What was going on?

Bella was still and then I saw her eyes widen and suddenly it looked like she wasn't breathing. I was off the piano bench and ripping into the studio faster than I could blink.

"Baby what's wrong?" I asked reaching for her. She stared at me in shock and held out the phone to me. I glanced at it but it was a restricted number. "Hello?" I asked, taking the phone and bringing it to my ear.

"Hello, is Bella Swan still there?" The woman asked. I stared at Bella who was starting to shake.

"Yes, she's shaking. Who is this? What do you want?" I demanded, wrapping my arms around my girl. She sank into me.

"My name is Linda, I'm from Forks Community Hospital. We have a Charles Swan who was admitted about thirty minutes ago to the ER. He was in an accident." She informed me. My heart stopped.

"What? How is he? We're on our way." I said tugging Bella to move. Jane started protesting but I shot her a nasty glare and she wisely shut up. I looked down at Bella who was shaking.

"He's stable at the moment. Fortunately there wasn't too much damage apart from a broken leg and a small concussion." She told me.

"Is he awake?" I asked.

"No the doctors have sedated him for the time being."

I sighed. "We'll be right there." I promised before hanging up. I got Bella tucked into the car with her seat belt on and then ran to the driver's side before ripping out of the parking lot and heading west. "Baby talk to me." I coaxed. She looked at me.

"My dad was in an accident." She whispered. Big fat tears rolled down her face.

"I know baby, we're going to see him right now. The nurse said he's okay though. A broken leg and a small concussion. He'll be out of there in no time." I insisted. Bella reached over and took my hand in hers.

"He has to be alright." She whispered. I gripped her hand and brought it to my lips.

"He will be baby."

Charlie was awake by the time we got there. Bella tore into his room frantically and he looked up from his hospital bed and rolled his eyes.

"Jeez Bella. Don't give me a heart attack." He complained. Bella ignored him and threw herself down to hug him.

"Daddy, are you okay?" She cried. I saw Charlie's face soften as he hugged his daughter.

"Yeah Honey, I'm fine." He reassured her. She let out a small sob.

"When I got the call I was so worried." She said pulling back and staring at him. Charlie shifted uncomfortably.

"Sorry to worry you Bells. Honestly they make it sound worse than it is." He tried to insist. Bella looked at me and I stepped up beside her.

"We're glad to see you're okay Charlie." I said sincerely. Charlie grumbled.

"Of course I'm okay. I'm one tough guy." He said indigently. Bella rolled her eyes and wiped her cheeks.

"I know daddy. I just," She paused and shook her head. Her silence spoke volumes and we all nodded somberly. "Can I get you anything?" She asked changing the subject.

"I'd love a sandwich." He mumbled. Bella laughed despite the tears that still lingered in her eyes.

"Okay dad, we'll go get you one. Anything else?" She asked. Charlie shook his head.

"No I'm fine Bella, really." He insisted. Bella nodded and stood, kissing his cheek.

"We'll be right back." She promised. She clutched my hand in hers and led me outside to the hallway. She looked at me and I wrapped my arms around her as she sank against my chest. "God I was so scared." She whispered.

"I know you were baby." I said softly. She wound her arms around my waist. I held her for a long moment before she pulled away and took my hand. I brought it up to my lips and kissed it gently before leading her down the hall in search of a sandwich.

Bella was silent as we drove to the tiny deli that was Charlie's favourite and ordered him a sub. She wouldn't look at me at all and even when I asked her if she was alright, she just gave me a tired, unfocused shrug.

I pulled into the parking lot by the hospital and turned to look at her. She looked down at her hands silently.

"Edward," She said finally looking up at me. I looked over at her and gently brushed the hair from her eyes.

"Yeah baby?"

She looked down a moment then looked back up at me, fresh tears in her eyes. "He's going to need me." She whispered. "With a broken leg he's not going to be able to do anything around the house. I'm going to have to move back to Forks to help him until he recovers." She said softly. My heart split in a million directions. I was in awe of her and her selfless love but I was also pained because I knew that that meant she wasn't coming with me on tour. I knew I couldn't even ask it of her. Her father needed her and she needed him.

"I know baby." I said quietly. She kept staring at me and in her eyes I saw all the things that had gone unsaid. I unbuckled my seatbelt and tugged her across the center console until she was in my lap. I leaned down to kiss her gently, trying to chase the guilt and sadness from her eyes. "It's going to be okay." I whispered. She didn't respond but hung on to me tighter. I held her for a long moment, drinking her in. I could feel my heart shattering at the thought of what was ahead of us, but forced my feelings down. I couldn't focus on that right now. Right now the most important person in my life was scared and sad and needed me to be strong. I dropped a kiss on the top of her head before squeezing her. "Come on, let's go give your dad that sandwich." I said quietly. Bella nodded and swiped at her eyes. We clambered out of the car and immediately I wrapped my arms around her. She clung to me as we walked back into the hospital.

Charlie was sitting up in bed, scowling at the TV when we came in.

"Ain't nothing good on." He grumbled, turning off the old screen. Bella sighed and brought him his sandwich, taking it out of the bag and setting it up for him. "Bells I can feed myself." He grumbled when she started cutting the sandwich. Bella looked at him with big glassy eyes and nodded, dropping the little plastic knife and sliding him his food. Charlie looked at her a long moment then sighed.

"Thanks for getting this kids." He said quietly. Bella nodded and took a deep breath. I stepped up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Is there anything else we can do for you?" I asked. Charlie shook his head and wiped at his mouth after taking a large bite of his sub.

"No, but I can't wait to get out of this place." He grumbled, shifting in the hospital bed. Bella bit her lip.

"When can you leave?" She asked. Charlie sighed.

"I'm not sure. I know they want to keep me here tonight and the doc said something about tomorrow as well. Probably after the weekend?" He said shrugging. Bella nodded and glanced at me. My heart clenched. Three more days with my girl. That was it.

"I think Edward and I are going to go to the house and get it ready for you." Bella said quietly. Charlie eyed her suspiciously.

"What's there to get ready?" He asked.

"There is no way you're going to be able to navigate that house in crutches." She said shaking her head. "We're just going to make sure pathways are clear and everything is easy to get to." She told him. He harrumphed but then conceded, focusing again on his sandwich. Bella leaned down to kiss his cheek and gave him a small smile. "We'll be back tomorrow." She promised. "Goodnight dad." He mumbled an unintelligible response around his sandwich, but nodded to both of us as we left.

The Swan house was small and simple and somehow completely Charlie and Bella. It was the first time I'd been there and I took my time taking it all in. The house small and slightly cramped, but comfortable.

"Edward will you help me?" Bella asked quietly. I turned my attention from the photos of young Bella up on the mantle to see her gesturing to the sofa. "I'm going to set up a bed down here since there is no way he's going to be able to go up those steps." She said eyeing the brown staircase. I nodded and moved to help pull out the fold out bed from the sofa. We set it up and Bella got to work putting fresh linens on it.

It didn't take all that long to get his house ready and soon Bella was standing in the middle of the living room, her big brown eyes watering.

"Baby." I whispered, moving to wrap my arms around her. She sank against me.

"My heart is breaking." Her voice cracked over her admission and I hugged her tighter. I could feel my own heart shattering.

"Come on," I said quietly, lifting her up. She stared at me in surprise as I started up the stairs toward her childhood room. I pushed open the door and carried her to the small twin bed. I set her down gently and knelt in front of her, carefully tugging off her shoes. She stared at me in surprise but didn't say anything. I took off her cardigan and blouse and helped her out of her bra before shrugging out of my own shirt and offering it to her. Her eyes widened even more and she slipped my shirt over her head. Next I helped her out of her jeans before pulling her up on the bed and tucking her under the thick purple quilt. I slipped off my own shoes and jeans before climbing in next to her. It was a tight fit since it was twin bed, but that didn't matter. I pulled Bella to me and held her tightly. She took a deep breath then wrapped her own arms around me. She was silent a moment and I bent down to kiss the top of her head. "I love you." I murmured.

Her sobs broke free and each one ripped through me painfully. There was nothing worse in this world than seeing my girl cry, and the worst of it was that I couldn't do anything to fix it. Instead I just held her and let her cry until she finally drifted asleep, and it was only then when her breathing evened out and her heartbeat slowed, did I let my own tears fall.

The next morning both Bella and I were exhausted from the emotional day before. We didn't talk about it as we got ready for our day, but I knew that all those emotions were still there, lying just beneath the surface, waiting to come out again.

Bella was strong though and kept on fighting to put on a good front as we got ready to head back to the hospital.

By the time we got to Charlie's room, she had even managed to smile again.

"Hey dad, how are you?" She asked coming into his room. He grunted at her.

"I hate these damn hospital beds." He complained. Bella smirked.

"Well we got the pull out sofa all ready for you." She told him. Charlie groaned.

"I hate that damn bed too." He said shaking his head. Bella shrugged.

"Well that's your lot until you're better and climb the stairs without crutches." She told him firmly. He sighed in resignation.

"You kids heading back to Seattle today?" He asked looking at me. Bella nodded.

"We're going to go home and get ready." She said quietly. Charlie nodded.

"That's right, you're touring next week aren't you?" He asked. I nodded, still unable to say anything.

"Edward is going. I'm coming back here." Bella told him. Charlie looked at her in surprise.

"What do you mean you're coming back here?" He asked sending me a sharp glare. Bella rolled her eyes.

"Dad, you can barely manage to take care of yourself when you're at 100% health. How do you think you'll fare injured?" She asked taking Charlie's accusing glare away from me.

"Dammit Bella I can take care of myself just fine." He said shaking his head. Bella stood firm though.

"Don't give me that. I'm coming back to Forks to help you out and there is not a damn thing you can say that is going to change my mind." She said sternly. Charlie stared at her a long moment.

"I don't want you missing your life for me Bells."

Bella sent me a glance and I nodded, removing myself from the room. She and Charlie needed a moment and I was more than happy to give them one. I waited out in the waiting room for Bella to come back out. My phone rang in my pocket and I glanced at it, rolling my eyes. Jane. Again.

She had called at least a hundred times since we'd bailed out of the studio yesterday.

Deciding it was best to just grab the bull by the horns, I answered the call.

"Edward where the hell are you?" She snarled. I sighed and leaned my head against the wall behind me.

"Family emergency. We're in Forks." I said tiredly.

"I don't care if your fucking mother is on her deathbed!" She screeched. "We are going on tour next week! You have work that needs to be done!"

My hands flexed in anger and I barely contained my scathing comments to her.

"I'll be in Seattle tonight." I snapped. I ended the call before she could say anything more, and promptly shut off my phone. _Deep breaths Cullen_. _It's not going to do you any good to be furious. It's not going to do Bella any good to be furious_.

That last thought zapped all my anger away. Bella needed me to be calm. I'd deal with Jane later.

Bella came out a few minutes later and motioned to her dad's room.

"He wants to say goodbye." She said quietly. I nodded and kissed her forehead before walking back to Charlie's room. He looked up at me when I came in and nodded for me to take a seat. I settled down in the chair and waited for him to talk.

"How long are you touring?" Charlie asked. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Two months minimum. They want me on board for the West Coast and the South. They think my music will do well down there." I explained. Charlie nodded.

"What do you think of Bella staying here?" He pressed. My chest constricted painfully.

"I think that I'm going to miss her like crazy but I know that she needs to be here. I would never keep her from doing what she needs to." I said quietly. Charlie nodded and gazed at me.

"I'm sorry I'm taking her from you." He said finally. I looked up at him then and he seemed completely sincere.

"I don't think you are." I said after a moment. "She's your daughter. It's me who has taken her form you."

Charlie smirked at me. "I know she loves you more than anything." He said shaking his head. "You're her future. At least she thinks that." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Charlie, she's my everything." I said passionately. "When I get back from touring I'm planning on asking her to marry me." I admitted. Charlie nodded as if he had expected as much.

"Bella is one in a million." He said after a moment. I nodded in agreement. "Don't fuck it up. I know what goes on on these tours." He said gesturing vaguely.

"There isn't a force in this world that could make me even think of jeopardizing what I have with Bella."

Charlie nodded, satisfied. "Good. Then be safe and come home to our girl soon. She says she'll be okay but I know my daughter. She's going to be heartbroken while you're gone."

I swallowed back tears and nodded. "Yeah, I will be too."

Charlie gave me a sad smile, and I stood holding out my hand to him. He shook it and nodded to me. "You're a good man Cullen. I couldn't have picked a better one for my baby girl."

I smiled at him and felt a weight I hadn't realized I was carrying, settle off my chest.

"Thank you sir. That really means a lot to me."

Charlie nodded and I gave him one last wave before leaving his room. I found Bella pacing in the waiting room anxiously. She looked up when I approached her and flew into my arms.

"I'm sorry if he was mean to you." She murmured. I chuckled.

"He wasn't baby. Come on, let's get going." I said

The drive back to Seattle was mostly silent. When we got back I told Bella that I had to go into the studio to make up for time I'd missed. She assured me that it would be all right and that she had to get packing anyway. The thought made my heart ache and so, with a kiss goodbye, I dropped her off and drove to the studio, trying to force out thoughts of being separated from Bella.

"Where the hell have you been?" Jane snapped when I called her.

"I'm on my way to the studio. Is it free?" I asked, ignoring her question. She huffed.

"Yes, fortunately for you. I'll be there in ten."

I ended the call and tossed my phone on the passenger's seat. I really didn't want to be working, but I knew that I had to. I'd just get through it as fast as possible so I could be home with my girl.

…

"Hey baby. Are you up?" I asked stepping into the apartment. I didn't expect her really to be awake since it was well past one in the morning, but I could hear her cello coming from the recording studio, telling me she was indeed up. I smiled, walking down the hall towards the room.

She was playing one of her instrumental pieces. I stood by the door listening to her captivating music. How Volturi could turn down signing her was completely beyond me. Bella was ten times more the musician than I could ever hope to be.

The song was beautiful and sad and haunting and made my heart clench in agony as I listened. Bella was beautiful and eloquent, but when she played, she put it all out there and now I could hear her sorrow, hear her pain and I ached to sooth it all. She brought her song to an end and took a deep shuddering breath. She started playing a soft tune on the strings of her cello and started singing softly.

"I'll find a way to see you again  
I'll find a way to see you again

I used to think that anything I'd do  
Wouldn't matter at all anyway  
But now I find that when it comes to you  
I'm the winner of cards I can't play  
Wait for me, wait for me  
Darling, I need you desperately, desperately here

And I'll find a way to see you again  
And I'll find a way to see you again

The rain is like an orchestra to me  
Little gifts from above meant to say  
Girl, you falling at his feet  
Isn't lovely or stunning today  
Wait with me, wait with me  
I'm alive when you're here with me, here with me, stay

And I'll find a way to see you again  
And I'll find a way to see you again

Why do the street lamps die  
When you're passing by  
Like a hand that won't stay on my shoulder tonight  
If you held me close, would you laugh it away  
Would you dare the glance that I steal to stay

And I'll find a way to see you again  
Yes, I'll find a way to see you again  
I'll find a way, a way, a way to see you again  
I'll find a way, a way, a way to see you again  
I'll find a way, a way, a way to see you again  
The rain will bring, the rain will bring, the rain will bring, bring, bring me down  
The rain will bring, the rain will bring, the rain will bring, bring, bring me down  
The rain will bring, the rain will bring, the rain will bring, bring, bring me down."

Bella let out a sob and set her cello down. I moved from the doorframe and came into the room. She looked up at me startled and I hated the tears that I could see in her eyes.

"Baby, don't cry." I begged, kneeling down and scooping her into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck and sobbed. I held her and tried not to sob with her. Instead I rocked her against my chest, trying not to break down in tears myself.

"I can't let you go." She sobbed. I hugged her tighter.

"You're not baby." I whispered. "I'll be back before you know it." I promised. She shook her head against my neck and clung onto me.

"I need you." She whimpered. "I need you please." My heart shattered all over at her sad pleas. Silently I picked her up and carried her to our room, laying her out onto our bed. She reached for me, wanting me to stay close. I held her in my arms and kissed her deeply, trying to say, without words, just how much I loved her.

When I pulled away there were fresh tears in her eyes. "Love me." She pleaded. So I did. I took my time and together we moved slowly, in no rush to be parted. We made love until the sun came up and when we finally collapsed in a tired mess on our bed, I pulled her close to me and sang her to sleep.

**Songs: **

**Farewell - Adam Hurst**

**I'll Find A Way - Rachael Yamagata**

**Links on profile. :)**


	10. Chapter 10 Saved

**Before I start, I want to warn everyone that this chapter might be a little hard to read. I don't want to spoil anything, but I'm so sorry if I trigger any unhappy emotions or memories. Just a heads up, I would definitely keep the tissue box nearby for this chapter. It had me weeping when I was writing it.**

CHAPTER TEN

SAVED

* * *

-BELLA-

"Bella, for the last time, I don't need you to baby me. I'm almost walking again without these things." Charlie grumbled, nudging his crutches. I shot him a look and rolled my eyes at him.

"Yes you do need me to help you. Now stop being a grumpy old man." I ordered him. He grumbled again and crossed his arms across his chest. "Do you want anything to drink or eat?" I asked making sure he was settled on the sofa. "A sandwich maybe?" I offered. He glanced at me and gave me a half shrug, which was as good as a conformation for me. I nodded and stood, leaving him on the sofa to go to the tiny kitchen. It'd been about a month since Edward had left to go on tour and I'd moved back to Forks to help out my dad. Dad had been amazing about everything and had kept the complaining to a minimum up until a few days ago. He told me that he was well enough that he didn't need me around to watch him and that I should go and meet Edward for the rest of his tour.

While the idea appealed to me greatly, I couldn't just leave my dad. I knew, that despite what he said, he did need me.

My phone rang in my pocket and I pulled it out eagerly, smiling when I saw it was Edward.

"Hey." I breathed as soon as I answered the phone.

"Hey baby. How is it going?" He asked softly.

"I miss you." I whimpered pathetically. Edward sighed.

"I know, I miss you too." He admitted. I blinked back tears that jumped to my eyes.

"Where are you?" I asked pulling out bread for sandwiches.

"We just crossed the border into Texas."

I shut my eyes and tried not to think about him being so far from me.

"How is it?" My voice was strained.

"I don't know, I hardly notice anything without you." He whispered. I almost broke down at his words. "How's Charlie?" He asked.

"He's fine. Mumbling and grumbling about me taking care of him of course." I said trying to make my voice light. Edward let out a small laugh.

"He's stubborn." He said chuckling. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah no kidding." I said sarcastically. Edward laughed again and it warmed me to hear. "How is Kate working out?" I asked quietly. Before Edward had left, I'd found him a manager he could tour with. Edward still insisted that I manage him from Washington, so I did, finding him a second manager who could go on the road with him should anything arise. Kate and I had met at the studio a couple of weeks before Edward had left, and we'd hit it off right away, especially after expressing a mutual dislike for Jane.

"Kate's great. She's still a total hard ass, which is really good. Her husband Garrett is touring with us, did I tell you? He's a technical director." He explained. I smiled.

"I'm glad it's working out." I said earnestly.

"I know. I still wish it was you though." He told me. I sighed.

"I know. Me too."

There was a long pause when I tried to gather myself together. I twisted awkwardly to grab the cutting board and let out a low hiss.

"What's wrong baby?" He asked immediately. I sighed.

"Nothing, my back is just sore." I mumbled, rubbing my lower back and frowning.

"From what? Are you okay?" He asked. I smiled at his concern.

"I'm fine babe. It's probably just cramps." I said shaking my head. Edward sighed.

"As long as you're sure." He said quietly. I smiled.

"I am. Now tell me how New Mexico went."

We spoke on the phone while I made lunch for dad and me. I brought dad's lunch out to him in the living room and then took my own to my room so I could talk to Edward longer. "I swear baby, I'm not touring again without you." He grumbled. I giggled.

"Those evil fan girls sure didn't take long to latch onto you." I teased. Edward had called me after his first gig in Oregon and had complained that all of sudden he had groupies. I had been jealous at first, but after listening to the ridiculous stories he told me about them I couldn't hold onto the feeling. Now I had to laugh whenever they came up, though I knew if I were with him I'd probably be a lot more defensive of my man.

"I don't know how the hell they do it, but they just don't stop." He groaned. I smirked and shook my head.

"Next time I'll be there to fight them off." I promised. Edward sighed.

"I wish you were here now." He said quietly. My heart squeezed and I laid back against my bed.

"I know baby, me too." I whispered. "How has Jane been?"

I was nervous about Edward going on tour with Jane when I wasn't there to defend him from her relentless advances. She'd made it perfectly clear that she hated me and wanted Edward. It had taken me nearly two weeks to get Edward to admit to me after he'd left on tour, that he was fighting off Jane's advances every time they came within eyesight of each other. He hadn't wanted to tell me because he didn't want me to worry about it, but that was faulty logic. I'd worry with or without knowing.

"Kate took care of her." He said happily. I frowned.

"Do you mean that in a hitman way?" I asked curiously. Edward laughed.

"No, she just talked to her. I don't know what she said, I don't want to know, but whatever it was, Jane's backed off. She still looks at me funny, but she doesn't say or do anything anymore. It's a relief."

I could hear it in his voice and I smiled.

"I'm glad. I'll have to send Kate some flowers." I joked. Edward laughed again.

"I already did." We both laughed and I thought about all that I was missing being here in Washington. Not for the first time I wondered if I had really made the right decision, before guilt came in and made me feel bad for thinking of being with Edward instead of my dad who currently couldn't do much on his own. "Are you taking care of yourself?" Edward asked quietly, bringing me out of my thoughts. I smiled.

"Yes I promise. I went to Seattle last weekend to see everyone. They're coming to Forks next weekend to visit dad and me." I told him.

"Good." I knew he was worried about me, though he never said so directly.

"Oh did I tell you?" I asked, remembering Alice's big news that she had shared with me when I had gone to see her. "Alice and Jazz are moving in together. They are looking for a house."

"Doesn't surprise me." Edward said chuckling. "I'm sure Jasper is going to ask her to marry him soon." He said quietly. I felt my heart flutter at the thought.

"Really?" I asked surprised. Edward hummed. "I know Alice will say yes. She told me the day she met him that she was going to marry him. How she knows these things I have no idea." I said chuckling. Edward laughed.

"Alice is incredibly intuitive." He said gently. I nodded in agreement and Edward sighed. "I have get going baby." His voice was sad and I couldn't help my tears as they sprang to my eyes.

"Okay." I whispered.

"Three weeks." He said quietly. "Three weeks then you're all mine."

I flushed at his words and wiggled on my bed despite myself. "I can't wait." I murmured. Edward let out a long breath.

"Okay baby, I have to go. I'll call you later alright?" I whispered my agreement. "I love you Bella."

"I love you too Edward." I barely managed to keep the tears at bay.

With a final sigh I hung up the phone and shut my eyes.

Soon enough, Edward and I would be back together. I could get through now if I could just remember that.

…

I woke in the middle of the night and groaned. My back was aching and there was a pain radiating through my body I didn't understand. I sat up in bed and did a double take when I saw the blood pooled around me. _What happened?_

Another strong pain went through my abdomen and I barely managed not to cry out. Something was seriously wrong. _What is happening to me?_

I stood up and doubled over in pain. I let out a gasp of agony and shut my eyes as I waited for the wave of pain to subside. Eventually it did and I crawled downstairs. Dad woke up from the sounds of my thumping down the stairs and looked up at me from the sofa.

"Bells what's wrong?" He asked yawning. "It's three in the morning."

I whimpered and clutched the banister of the stairs as I tried to gather myself together.

"I have to go to the hospital." I whispered. Dad flicked on the light and gasped when he saw me. He stood up from the sofa and wobbled over to me.

"Jesus Bells what happened?" He cried panicked. I shook my head.

"I don't know; I need the ER." I whimpered. Dad nodded and wobbled closer to try to help me walk. I clutched onto his shoulder lightly. I didn't want to give him extra weight to carry since he was already one leg down, but I couldn't walk on my own. Together we hobbled to the truck outside and dad got in the driver's seat, much to my protest.

"It's a three minute drive Bella." He snapped, making sure I was buckled in before ripping out of the driveway.

We were at the ER before I could even worry about my dad driving.

"Hold on Honey. I'm going to get them to come out for you." He said hopping out of the truck and hobbling inside. I clutched my abdomen in agony and realized that I needed to call Edward. I didn't want him to worry about me, but I needed to hear his voice.

I scrambled on the dashboard where dad's phone was perched and, with shaking fingers, dialed Edward's number.

"Charlie? Is everything okay? What's wrong?" He asked as soon as he answered his phone.

"It's me." I gasped.

"Bella what's wrong?"

"I don't know." I whimpered as another sharp pain rolled through me. "Something's wrong with me." I gritted.

"What?" He asked, panicked.

"I don't know. I'm at the ER. Dad drove me." I said taking a deep breath.

"Bella what's going on?" He practically screamed. I felt hot tears burning my eyes.

"I'm bleeding, more than I should be and I'm in pain." I whimpered as another round of pain came through.

"What?" Edward asked. "Did it just start?" He asked. I sighed.

"I don't know. I just woke up about ten minutes ago. The doctors are coming out to get me from the car. I'll call you later to let you know what's going on. I just wanted to let you know so you won't freak out if you can't get a hold of me." I whimpered. Edward started to protest but I cut him off. "I'll talk to you later Edward. I love you." I whispered before hanging up. The doctors came out and helped me out of the car and into a wheel chair. Questions were thrown at me in rapid fire and I struggled to keep up with all of them. I had no idea what was going on with me; I just wished Edward could be there to hold me.

…

There was a flurry of activity to get me settled into the ER and I mostly ignored everything going on around me. A doctor came to me at some point to examine me, but I was too out of it to focus on him. Fortunately, it was a doctor I'd grown up with, so as soon as I was able to focus on his face, I felt immediately comforted. Dr. Fisher had been there through every one of my disasters as a kid. I knew I was in good hands.

"Well Bella, it seems that you're miscarrying." Dr. Fisher informed me some time later. I stared at him in shock. My chest felt tight and my breathing stopped.

"What?" I gasped. He nodded sadly.

"I'm so sorry for your loss. Our estimate is that you were about nine weeks along." He told me placing a hand on my shoulder. My heart pounded in my chest, and outside of myself, I could hear it beep on the monitor beside my bed.

"But that's not possible?" It came out a question and suddenly I had no confidence in what I was saying at all. Dr. Fisher shrugged.

"Birth control has been known to fail, unless you're saying you've been abstaining?" He asked. I blushed and shook my head. I certainly hadn't been. He nodded understanding. "I know the pain is excruciating." He said quietly and I nodded, gritting my teeth as another wave hit. "I think it'll soon pass though. We need to sit and talk about it more though when you feel up to it." He said quietly. I nodded and felt tears run down my cheeks.

A baby. I had been pregnant.

A sob built up in my chest and I shuddered. Dad came to my side and sat down awkwardly in the chair near the bed.

"I'm so sorry Honey." He whispered. I was inconsolable though. I had just miscarried my first child, a child I hadn't even known about and all I wanted was Edward and he was hundreds of miles away, unable to come to me.

I burrowed into my pillow and wept as the weight of everything tumbled down on me.

…

I woke up some time later and most of my pain had subsided. There were still a few residual cramps, but they were far less then what they had been. Charlie was sitting in the chair next to my bed, passed out and snoring. I looked around and spotted a clock on the wall that told me it was just after noon.

There was a quiet knock on the door to the room I didn't remember being transferred to, and I looked up to see Emmett stick his head inside. Fresh tears welled in my eyes when I saw him.

"Oh Bells." He sighed, rushing in to embrace me. He hugged me tight, letting me cry into his shirt as he rocked me gently. "Shh, it's okay sweetie. I'm here." He murmured. I kept on sobbing, unable to stop myself.

Emmett eventually curled up on the edge of my hospital bed and held me protectively until I stopped crying.

"What are you doing here?" I asked finally. Emmett smiled sadly.

"Edward called me in a panic. I came as fast as I could." He told me gently. "What's going on with you Bells? Why are you in the hospital?"

I shook my head and buried my face into his neck.

"I can't, I can't talk about it." I hiccupped. Emmett nodded and pet my hair.

"It's okay sweetheart. Just tell me, are you going to be okay?" He asked, and when I looked up into his eyes I could see the concern there. I nodded, not trusting my voice. I was sure I would be okay one day, but I wasn't sure how. Emmett nodded and hugged me to him again and before I knew it, I was drifting back asleep.

When I woke again Emmett was gone and in his place was the one face I longed to see the most. Edward was lying next to me on the hospital bed, his beautiful face contorted in worry.

"Edward?" I asked, unable to believe he was really here. He nodded and kissed my fingertips that had come up to trace his features.

"I'm here baby." He whispered. Tears filled my eyes and I blinked, trying to push them back.

"You're here." I repeated, my tears falling down my cheeks despite my efforts. Edward nodded and squeezed his arms around me. Tears burst from me then and I let out a shuddering sob.

"Oh baby." He cried holding me closer. "Sh baby, it's okay. I'm here." He whispered. I curled into his chest and sobbed. He continued to hold and sooth me though he had no idea why. "Bella, what happened? Are you okay?" He asked gently. I shook my head.

"I had a miscarriage." I whimpered. Edward's face froze in shock and then the pain I felt swept over his face and he pulled me to him tighter.

"Oh God."

We lay on the hospital bed, wrapped in each other's arms and for a moment, we let grief settle around us as we both wept for our loss.

When I woke up, Edward was still holding me in his arms. I looked up at him through my puffy dry eyes and gave him a tiny smile. His smile in return looked broken and my heart wrenched at the sight. "How are you?" I whispered. He shook his head and looked away from me. I frowned and reached up to pull his face back to look at me. "Don't hide from me." I whispered. "Please."

Edward nodded and let out a choked sob. "I'm angry." He whispered. I waited patiently for him to elaborate. "I'm angry at what we've lost. It's not fair." He said through gritted teeth. I wrapped my own arms around him and stroked his hair gently, trying to bring him some of the comfort that he had offered me earlier. "It was a baby, our baby and now it's been ripped away from us." His voice held layers of emotions too complex for me to even try to break down. I stayed quiet and kept holding him. "It's not fair." He shouted before slumping against me in defeat. "Our innocent baby." He sobbed. Despite how much I'd been crying today, more tears bloomed in my eyes at his words. I held him tightly and let him sob, letting my own tears trickle down my cheeks.

"We're going to get through this." I whispered in his ear. "You and me. We're going to get through this together." I promised. Edward clung to me tighter and tried to gather himself together. I kissed his forehead and murmured soft words of comfort to him as he went through the same agony of heartbreak as I'd been going through.

We lay there for a long time until Edward's sobs slowed down to silent streams of tears.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, pulling away from me.

"For what?" I asked, holding him tighter so he couldn't get away.

"I'm sorry for not being here, for getting you pregnant. I'm sorry for not being strong enough." Pain washed over his face as he spoke and I shook my head, pressing my lips to his to silence him.

"Don't apologize because none of that is true. You are here with me and you are stronger than anyone I know." I whispered. "And you cannot apologize for getting me pregnant." I whispered. "That was both of us and even though we're going through this now, I wouldn't change a single thing we've done." I said fiercely. "I love you Edward."

"I love you too Bella." He said holding me closer to him.

"We weren't ready to be parents." I said quietly. "It doesn't take away from the pain we're going through now, but we weren't. We have too much going on." I said gently. "When the time is right, we'll have kids and they will be beautiful."

Edward looked up at me and let out a shaky breath. "One day." He promised. I nodded.

"One day." I agreed. I gathered Edward closer to me and started humming quietly one of my favourite songs.

"I am unbreakable but it looks like I could sometime soon

And you are unreachable about as possible as me touching the moon

I am unraveling unbearably empty

and if this ground gives way I just hope that you'll catch me.

You came and saved me tonight

Defending all my life

Whoa, now I'm content with my breath

cause I'm alive

And this is the epitome of everything you see in the movies

And this world is a time bomb ticking and I think I can stop it if you help me.

I am unraveling unbearably empty

and if this ground gives way I just hope that you'll catch me.

You came and saved me tonight

Defending all my life Whoa,

now I'm content with my breath cause I'm alive

My faith will never rust

No longer to prone bust

Oh finally I believe...

You came and saved me tonight

Defending all my life Now

I'm content with my breath

You came and saved me tonight

Defending all my life

Now I'm content with my breath Cause I'm alive Cause I'm alive..."

Edward joined me in singing and by the time we were done, we both had tears in our eyes again. "Thank you for saving me." I whispered to him. He shook his head and kissed me.

"No baby, it's you who's saved me."

**I am so sorry if that was painful for any of you to read. I have never personally experienced a miscarriage so I know I can't possibly begin to even understand the emotions and heart ache.  
**

**Song: Saved - The Spill Canvas. Link on profile. **


	11. Chapter 11 Lullaby

**Unfortunately this chapter is a bit shorter. I'm sorry about that.**

CHAPTER ELEVEN

LULLABY

* * *

-EDWARD-

I paced around on the porch, running a hand through my hair. "I can't leave her Kate." I said into the phone. On the other end Kate sighed.

"I know Edward, I know it's hard but you have to come back or you're under breech of contract."

"Kate," I paused and shut my eyes. "She miscarried. We just lost a baby." My voice broke over the words and Kate was quiet. "I can't leave her." I said again.

"Edward I know this is hard." She said quietly. "And I can't imagine what you guys are going through, but you have to think about this." She urged gently. "If you break contract now, you're going to have one hell of a lawsuit on your hands. I know you need to be there for your girl, but you have to think of your futures as well." Kate said quietly. I sighed and gripped my hair in my hand, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Kate," I had nothing more to say though. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place and what I should do and what I wanted to do were miles apart.

"Think it over Cullen." She said quietly. "I've gotten you the next three days. Then you have to be back with us."

I nodded silently though she couldn't see me. "Thanks." I whispered. Kate sighed.

"If it were up to me I'd have you stay with her." She growled. "If I hear Jane bitch one more time about this I might just punch her in the face." I choked out a laugh and I heard her chuckle. "Take care of her Edward. I'll talk to you soon." With that she hung up. I slid my phone into my pocket and settled down into the rocking chair on the porch. I dropped my head to my hands and rested my elbows on my knees. I didn't know what to do and that terrified me.

"Hey." A small hand landed on my shoulder and I looked up at Alice who was giving me a small smile. All of our friends had made the trek to Forks when they had heard Bella was in the ER, and though they were all worried about her, they had thankfully, kept a distance and let us sort through everything. They still had no idea what had happened and I felt bad about that.

"Hey." I said sitting up. Alice perched on the seat next to me and gave me a small smile.

"What can I do to help?" she asked. I smiled warily at her.

"I don't think there is much you can do." I said quietly. "I have to get back to my tour, but I can't leave her."

Alice nodded silently and curled her legs up under her. "What happened?" She asked finally. I glanced over at her and tears burned my eyes. I still felt angry and I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to let that anger go.

I knew right now Bella was upstairs in her dad's house resting and suddenly the need to vent came over me. I turned to Alice and sighed.

"She miscarried." I whispered. Alice's eyes went wide as she gasped. She watched me a moment before flying off the seat she was perched on and tackling me in an embrace. My arms went around her automatically as she squeezed me.

"Oh God." She sobbed clutching onto me. "How are you?" She asked pulling away to study my face. Tears were streaming down her face but she was looking at me to see how I was doing. I shook my head.

"I'm furious and heartbroken." I said feeling tears build behind my eyes again. Alice hugged me again.

She didn't say anything else which surprised me. Instead she pulled away and perched back on the rocking chair, curling her knees to her chest and reaching out to hold my hand. I'd never seen her go longer than five minutes without saying anything but she sat out there with me for at least an hour, silent tears running down her face and her hand holding mine. It was exactly the kind of comfort I needed. I don't know how she knew, but she did.

Eventually a car pulled up in front of Charlie's house and Jasper, Emmett and Rose climbed out. They all looked at me a long moment but made no comment on my absolutely disheveled appearance. I was sure I looked like shit.

"Hey." Jazz said softly, stepping up next to me. He looked at Alice a moment before looking back at me. "How is Bella?"

I shook my head and looked down at my feet. "She's sleeping." I whispered. She'd come home from the hospital a few hours ago and had been sleeping ever since.

"How are you?" Rose asked me. I looked up at my sister and felt a new round of grief hit me.

"I'm not doing good." I said finally. "Bella had a miscarriage." I announced quietly. Rose gasped and Emmett froze before crumpling down onto the steps of the porch in agony. Jazz stepped closer to me and pulled me up from the chair, wrapping me in a hug only a brother could give. I sank against him and tried to keep my tears at bay.

"I'm so sorry." Jasper said quietly. Everyone remained silent as they let the news soak in.

"I need to see her." Emmett said finally. He stood up and started inside without a glance back at anyone else. Rose came over to me and pulled me from Jasper's hug into her own.

"We're here for you." She whispered.

I had never been more thankful for the words.

"What are you going to do?" Jazz asked when Rose and I pulled apart. Alice was wrapped up in his arms and they were both staring at me. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"I don't know." I admitted. "I can't leave her, but I have to get back on tour." I shook my head and clenched my fists angrily. I wish this damn record deal had never even happened.

"You'll figure it out Edward." Rose said rubbing my back gently. I sent her a small smile and shook my head.

I honestly couldn't see how.

…

Bella was curled up on her dad's double bed when I went up to check on her. Her small twin bed had been soaked in blood and we'd been working to clean it before she could go back to it.

"Hey." I said quietly. She looked up at me and gave me a small smile, patting the spot next to her on the bed.

"Hey." She whispered back. I came around and curled up next to her on the bed, pulling her gently into my arms.

"How are you?" I asked burying my face into her hair. She sighed and brought a hand up to trace patterns on my arm.

"Tired." She said softly. "How are you?"

I didn't know how to respond, so I didn't for a long moment. She waited patiently for me and finally I sighed. "I spoke to Kate." I told her. I could feel her shift to look at me but I stayed buried in her hair.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I have to get back on tour." I murmured. Bella flinched at my words and I hugged her tighter. "I can't leave you." I said fiercely.

"Baby you have to go." She whispered after a moment. "It's just three weeks." She said shifting more to look at me.

"I can't leave you." I said again meeting her gaze. Her big brown eyes were filled with tears and her small hand came up to cup my face.

"Kate called me." She said after a moment. I stared at her in surprise. "She told me what will happen if you break your contract." She continued. "Edward you can't do that. We can't start off our lives together battling an unnecessary lawsuit." Her words made sense, as much as I didn't want them to.

"I'm not strong enough." I admitted finally. "I'm not strong enough to go back without you. Bella I'm scared of what I'll do without you."

The anger and pain that had been burning in me since I'd found out what had happened had manifested into rage and I knew that I was one bad incident away from snapping. The only thing that kept me sane was Bella. She kept me grounded. Without her, I was scared of what I'd do.

I tried to explain it all to her and she watched me patiently, her big brown eyes filled with love and pain. "I'm going to snap." I told her. "Someone is going to say something or do something meaningless and I'm just going to lose it. I'm barely holding on to my sanity and the only thing keeping me there is you." I whispered. "Without you, I'm afraid of what I'll do." Silence settled between us as we both felt the weight of my words. Finally she leaned over and kissed me gently, holding me tight to her.

"I love you so much Edward." She whispered into my chest. "I know you're hurting. We both are, and I know that even the thought of being apart right now is excruciating, but babe you have to think about this. If you go back in three days, I should be okay to travel in about a week. That's just a few days apart until I can come meet you." She whispered.

"Bella I can't ask you to do that. Being on the road is grueling." I said shaking my head.

"Edward, if I'm with you then it'll be worth it." She said stroking the hair from my eyes. "It's that or be separated for three weeks." I flinched at the thought and she nodded.

"I love you so much Bella." I said pulling her in again. She sighed and wound her arms around me, holding me to her.

"I love you too Edward." She said yawning. I smiled sadly.

"You're tired. I should let you sleep." I started to untangle myself from her but her grip tightened.

"Don't you dare leave this bed." She growled. I chuckled and kissed her softly. "Sing me something." She whispered.

"What do you want to hear baby?"

"A lullaby." She yawned. I smiled.

"You got it." I started singing the newest song I'd been working on while on the road. I hadn't told Bella about it yet because I had meant it to be a surprise for her.

"It's the way that you blush when you're nervous.

It's your ability to make me earn this.

I know that you're tired, just let me sing you to sleep.

It's about how you laugh out of pity,

'Cause lets be honest I'm not really that funny.

I know that you're shot, just let me sing you to sleep.

If you need anything, just the say the word.

I mean anything.

Rest assured, if you start to doze, then I'll tuck you in,

and plant my lips where your necklaces close.

It's those pills that you don't need to take,

medicating perfection, now that's a mistake.

I know that you're spent, just let me sing you to sleep.

It's your finger and how I'm wrapped around it.

It's your grace and how it keeps me grounded.

I know that you're weak, just let me sing you to sleep.

If you need anything, just the say the word.

I mean anything.

Rest assured, if you start to doze, then I'll tuck you in,

and plant my lips where your necklaces close.

While you were sleeping I figured out everything,

I was constructed for you, and you were molded for me.

Now I feel your name, coursing through my veins.

You shine so bright it's insane, you put the sun to shame.

(Oh)

If you need anything, just the say the word.

I mean anything. (I really do)

Rest assured, if you start to doze, then I'll tuck you in,

and plant my lips where your necklaces close.

If you need anything, just the say the word.

I mean anything.

Rest assured, if you start to doze, then I'll tuck you in,

and plant my lips where your necklaces close."

…

"Hey babe." The instant Bella's voice came across the line, my entire body relaxed.

"Hi baby. How are you?" I asked softly.

"I've been better." She whispered. I didn't respond because I knew that the fact that we were apart wasn't exactly helping her.

"I'm sorry." I said finally.

"Soon." She said quietly. I nodded in agreement.

"Soon."

We were both quiet a moment before Bella sighed.

"So how is Tennessee?" She asked.

"Boring. I miss Washington."

She giggled lightly and I felt the corner of my mouth pull up in a small smile at the sound.

"I'm sure it's not that boring." She said. "Aren't you in Nashville?" I was indeed. I'd been back on the road for about three days now and already I was tired of it. I wanted Bella to come out and meet up with me already.

"Yeah it's alright." I said shrugging. "It'd be better if you were here." I knew I was whining and I hated it, but the alternative would be to let out my anger and that was not an option I wanted to pursue.

"The doctor gave me the all clear." She said gently. "I'm booking a flight right now. Where are you going to be in two days?"

My heart raced at the thought of her joining me out here on tour. Atlanta." I could hear her clicking away at a computer.

"Okay I found a couple of flights. What time?"

I chuckled. "The earlier the better. I want you as soon as possible." I said earnestly. She giggled.

"Okay there is an 8 a.m. flight out of Seattle nonstop to Atlanta. I'd land at 4 p.m."

I groaned. "I'd have to go through almost the whole day waiting." I pouted. She laughed.

"At least you don't have to get up at 2 to get to the airport." She teased. I frowned at the truth in her words.

"Aren't there any flights out of Port Angeles?" I asked.

There was more typing on the keyboard. "Not direct to Atlanta." She sighed. "But there are some to Seattle. It's a bit excessive, but maybe I could fly to Seattle before continuing on to Atlanta." She suggested. I nodded, much happier with this suggestion.

"Do that." I urged. She laughed and kept clicking away. She was quiet a moment then I heard her sigh.

"I'm all booked." She whispered. My heart fluttered again at her words.

"I can't wait to see you." I said sincerely. She sighed.

"Me too babe." We were quiet a moment before she sighed again. "I have to go Edward. Alice and Rose are here and they want to know how my doctor's appointment went."

I nodded and bit back my plea to keep her on the phone. "Okay baby. Say hi to the girls for me." I said instead.

"I love you Edward."

"I love you too Bella. Be safe."

She murmured a soft, "You too." Before hanging up. As soon as the line went dead I felt my chest constrict around my heart. Two more days. I could live two more days without her.

**Song: Lullaby - The Spill Canvas. Link on Profile.**


	12. Chapter 12 Love You Til The End

**This is the end! Just the epilogue after this! **

CHAPTER TWELVE

LOVE YOU 'TILL THE END

* * *

-BELLA-

I knew how talented Edward was. I knew that he was beyond gifted in almost everything he did, and I knew had an exceptional gift in music. I knew all that and yet somehow I was shocked and awed when I saw him preform on tour. To watch him go up on stage and capture people so effortlessly was amazing.

The two weeks of tour that I'd joined Edward for had morphed into three weeks due to his absence when I'd been in the hospital. Jane had tried to push for more, but Edward had set his foot down. We had a home to get back to in Seattle.

Edward had not been wrong when he had told me that touring was grueling. I'd only been doing it for a few weeks and already I was exhausted. I couldn't imagine doing this for months on end.

I was still heart broken and hurting about the loss of my unborn child. I knew Edward was too and I tried to encourage him to talk to me as often as possible. I didn't want him to let all his feelings fester inside of him.

He resisted talking at first, but after a particularly bad episode during set up one night where he lost it on several people, he finally caved.

It was a bumpy road and it was by no means easy, but we were navigating it together.

Tonight was the last night on tour and both Edward and I were more than ready to go home. All the events that had happened over the last two months had really put everything into perspective for us and we were both ready to make some serious changes. The first and foremost being our careers. I'd been contacted by a few people who had heard of Edward and I through the Pink Door who were interested in us preforming locally for them. We had been able to make quite a name for ourselves in Seattle and we were both comfortable with keeping things small like that. We both craved it in fact.

Edward and I had managed to skype with his lawyer Tanya, out in Chicago. She had gone over his contract with Volturi records with us and had decided that there was no legal binding obligation to tour anymore, and there was actually a clause that allowed us to walk away after an initial six-month trial if either party were unsatisfied. I thought it was strange that there was a clause in his contract for that, but Tanya had explained that Volturi had been adding in these clauses for the past few years now. Unfortunately not many people realized because it was lost in a sea of technical jargon and laws. "It let's the label drop people who don't do as well as expected without ramifications." Tanya had explained. "Fortunately for you guys, it goes both ways. I'll start drafting a letter to the label if you are sure this is what you guys want." We had assured her that this was, in fact, what we wanted and she'd gotten straight to work.

After that, things seemed to fall into place. We were getting the kind of job offers we wanted and Edward had even considered going back to school to get his teaching certificate. He said the thought of sharing his passion of music with kids sounded right up his alley.

"Hey baby." Edward's voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I looked up at him as he came into our motel room. The beach that lay just beyond our motel was momentarily visible as the door swung open then shut.

"Hey. Are you all set for tonight?" I asked softly. Edward nodded and flopped down on the bed next to me.

"Yeah, I can't wait for this to all be over." He sighed. I nodded in agreement.

"Hey Edward," I said looking over at him. He looked at me expectantly. "How would you have reacted if I hadn't miscarried?" I asked quietly. It was a question I had been avoiding. I knew that he was devastated about the loss, but I had no idea how he felt about having kids. It wasn't something we had really talked about before.

Edward propped himself up on one elbow to look at me properly. He had a frown etched into his forehead as he stared at me.

"I would have been the happiest man on this earth." He said finally. I stared at him in surprise. "Bella it can't be a surprise to you that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want it all with you. Marriage, kids, white picket fence, the whole nine yards."

My heart fluttered at his declaration. "Really?" I asked. He gave me a small smile and rolled over so that he was lying closer to me on his stomach. He propped himself up on his elbows and took a deep breath.

"I was going to wait to ask this. I wanted it to be romantic and meaningful, but I don't want to wait any longer. I don't want to let another moment pass without knowing if you'll have me, forever." He said pulling out a small box from his pocket. I stared at him with wide eyes, my heart galloping. "Bella, I love you more than anything. Will you marry me?"

My breath caught in my throat as I stared at him in shock. Edward watched me anxiously and I raced to catch up with my spinning mind.

"Yes." I breathed.

"Yes?" He asked. "Even though that was like the least romantic proposal in the history of proposals?" He asked. I barked out a laugh and wrapped myself around him.

"It was perfect." I whispered, kissing him gently. Tears were blurring my vision and I tried to blink them away. "Yes Edward Cullen, I will marry you. I love you so much." I cried. Edward's smile was blinding and he wrapped his arms around me, crushing me to him.

"I love you Bella. So much."

…

I was jittering around excitedly backstage while I watched Edward preform. I couldn't wipe the huge smile off my face even if I wanted to. I glanced down at my ring, a beautiful diamond set on a simple platinum band. Simple, elegant and completely breathtaking. I knew it must have cost him a fortune, and to be honest I didn't want to think about it. I loved my ring completely.

"Are you that excited to get out of here or did Santa come early?" Kate asked stepping up next to me. I looked at her and smiled.

"Better." I whispered. She stared at me a moment before her eyes flew down to my left hand. She gasped, her eyes going wide.

"Congratulations!" She cried throwing her arms around me. I laughed and hugged her.

"Thank you!"

"How did he propose? Was he romantic?" Kate asked pulling away. She took my hand in hers and studied the impressive ring.

"He was perfect." I whispered. Kate looked at me and smirked.

"You two are so sappy I almost can't stand it." She said giving me a warm smile. I laughed.

"So what about you? Are you excited to go home?" I asked. Kate grinned.

"Yeah, I can't wait to get away from Jane." She said rolling her eyes at me. I giggled. Jane had been passive aggressively hostile toward me since my arrival. I honestly couldn't care less because I was just happy to be with Edward again. After Tanya had contacted the label though with our intent to walk away after six months, Jane had become a grade A pain in the ass. Suddenly nobody could stand her and as a result of all her bitching, everyone on tour had banded together and put up a united front against her. She'd been moping and bitching around ever since.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to be away from her." I agreed. Kate laughed and flipped her blond hair over her shoulder.

"Seriously, she is the devil incarnate. I mean kudos for being such a hard ass that people take you seriously in your industry, but shouldn't you know when to turn bitch mode off?" She said scrunching her nose. I chuckled at her antics. "Oh hey I think Edward is almost done." She said turning her attention on stage.

Edward wrapped his song up and the crowd exploded into applause. He smiled at everyone then leaned down to the mic.

"I have one last song I want to do before I go, but I can't do this one alone." He turned and found me off stage immediately. My eyes went wide as he motioned for me to come out on stage with him. Kate shoved me forward before I could protest. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is my fiancé Bella." Edward said giving me his dazzling crooked smile. "Baby come play a song with me." Edward said motioning to the extra guitar sitting next to him.

I bit my lip nervously and looked out on the crowd. I looked back to Edward and sighed. "What song?" I asked quietly. He grinned and a stagehand brought out a stool for me to sit on while I grabbed the guitar. Edward looked at me and smiled and started strumming his guitar strings. "This is one of my favourites." He said into his mic. I settled my own microphone in front of me and licked my lips nervously. As soon as he started playing though, I recognized the song and started to relax. I smiled at Edward as he started to sing and I joined him in playing and singing.

"I just want to see you  
When you're all alone  
I just want to catch you if I can  
I just want to be there  
When the morning light explodes  
On your face it radiates  
I can't escape  
I love you 'till the end

I just want to tell you nothing  
You don't want to hear  
All I want is for you to say  
Why don't you just take me  
Where I've never been before  
I know you want to hear me  
Catch my breath  
I love you 'till the end

I just want to be there  
When we're caught in the rain  
I just want to see you laugh not cry  
I just want to feel you  
When the night puts on it's cloak  
I'm lost for words don't tell me  
All I can say  
I love you 'till the end."

The applause was roaring when we finished and I slid off my stool, setting the guitar down. Edward hopped down and set his guitar down before pulling me into a hug and kissing me deeply. I blushed but brought my arms up around his neck and kissed him back. "I love you so much." He whispered.

"I love you too."

He smiled and kissed me again. "Let's go home."

**Song: Love You 'Till The End - The Pogues **


	13. Epilogue Hourglass

EPILOGUE

HOURGLASS

* * *

-EDWARD-

6 Years Later

I was in the middle of playing back a new track in our recording studio, when an errant note stabbed the song painfully. I looked up in surprise from the soundboard; no way would I have played that note in the song. Another note sprang up; a b flat that made me flinch. I stood up from the soundboard and looked into the recording studio where a tiny red head was poking up from behind my piano. Smiling I walked into the room and around the piano. My son was perched on the bench and giggling as he pressed keys on the piano.

"Whatcha doing Riley?" I asked scooping him up into my arms. He let out a precious squeal and giggled.

"Daddy! Play!" He cried. I chuckled and sat down at the piano with him in my lap. "Play daddy play!" he urged. I sighed dramatically making him giggle again before reaching out to the keys and playing. Riley reached out to try to mimic my hand's movements and looked up at me expectantly. I smiled down at him encouragingly. We played together a while and I tried not to wince whenever Riley hit a stray note. When we finished there was clapping from the door and Riley turned in my lap to see who it was. Bella was leaning against the doorframe, smiling at us.

"Mommy!" Riley screamed, jumping off my lap and running to her. She bent down and scooped him up, giving him a big kiss.

"Hi baby. Were you and daddy playing the piano?" She asked stroking his bright red hair. Riley nodded enthusiastically.

"I played with daddy!" He said proudly. "Mommy where did you go?" He asked pressing his tiny hands to her cheeks. She laughed and looked at me briefly before turning back to our son.

"I went to the doctor's office." She said softly. I frowned and stood up. Was she feeling sick? She hadn't mentioned the doctor's this morning.

"Why mommy? Are you okay?" Riley asked pressing his tiny hand to her forehead. She giggled.

"I'm perfect." She said nuzzling him. "Hey Ry, Grandpa Charlie is going to be here soon to take you out. Why don't you go get ready?" She said setting him down. Riley nodded and climbed down out of her arms before rushing out of the room. I looked at Bella curiously and she smiled at me, biting her lip.

"You went to the doctor's?" I asked. I couldn't help feeling slightly worried whenever the doctor was brought up. Bella rolled her eyes.

"Yes but it's not about what you think." She said stepping over to me. I frowned.

"So you're not feeling sick?" I asked needing clarification. She smiled.

"Only sometimes." She said confusing me. I opened my mouth to respond when she set a small photo in my hands. I looked down at the grainy sonogram and stared at it a moment before looking back up at her.

"Really?" I asked. Her smile was radiant as she nodded.

"I'm about eight weeks." She said quietly. I stared at her in shock.

"Another baby?" I asked, still unable to grasp what she was saying.

"Yeah, is that okay?" She asked nervously. I pulled her into my arms and hugged her fiercely to me.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked kissing her. "This is perfect." I dropped to my knees in front of her and wrapped my arms around her waist, leaning in to kiss her flat stomach. "God baby do you have any idea how happy you've just made me?" I asked against her shirt. Her fingers curled into my hair and she bent over to kiss me.

"Yeah I have a pretty good idea." She said smiling. I laughed and kissed her again, standing up so that I could hold her to me.

"I love you." I murmured against her lips. My hands started wandering around her waist and down to cup her butt. She giggled.

"My dad is going to be here any minute to take Riley for the night." She said pulling away from me. "You can wait for another hour." She gave me one sexy as hell wink before ducking out of the room. I smiled as I watched her go. I was going to be a father again.

…

It had been a couple of days since Bella had told me she was expecting again. We were waiting on telling anyone else until she cleared her first trimester, but I could tell it was killing her not to share the news. Still we waited with baited breath as the ninth week came and left. It had been the same week we had lost our first child at and I knew deep down we'd never be able to meet her ninth week of pregnancy without panicking.

By the time the tenth week came around, Bella couldn't keep it in any longer. She needed to tell someone, so she sat down our son to tell him the good news.

"Riley, honey, can we talk to you about something?" She asked settling down onto Riley's floor next to him. He looked up from his blocks and nodded with big brown eyes.

"What mama?" He asked turning back to his blocks. I settled down on the edge of his bed and let Bella take over.

"Honey how would you feel about having a brother or sister?" She asked getting right to it. Riley looked up at her and frowned.

"Do I get to pick one out?" He asked scrunching his nose. Bella laughed.

"No honey." She patted her stomach. "The baby is here. Growing inside me."

Riley looked at her curiously then shrugged and turned back to his blocks.

"Ry?" I asked glancing at Bella. Riley looked up at me expectantly. "How do you feel about this?" I knew that it was sort of ridiculous asking a four year old how he felt about getting a sibling, especially when he'd never been asked that before, but it was important to Bella.

"Max at school just got a baby brother." He said finally. Bella nodded in understanding. "Do I have to share my room?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No you won't have to share your room." I said chuckling. Riley nodded.

"Okay." He said looking back down at his blocks. I could see Bella preparing for a second round of questioning but I stopped her. He was obviously okay with things, and if he had questions he'd come to us. Gently, I pulled Bella up to her feet and led her out of his room.

"Do you think he'll really be okay?" Bella asked anxiously.

"Baby he's fine." I said gently. "He's four, he has no idea what it means to have a sibling. There might be an adjustment period, but we'll all get through it."

Bella visibly relaxed at my words and sighed, resting her head against my chest.

"You're right. You're always right." She whispered. I chuckled but didn't bother contradicting her. I was seldom right anymore.

"I'm going to go get some work done." I said kissing the top of her head. She nodded.

"Yeah me too." She said standing. I gave her a light kiss then turned to head down to our studio. After leaving Volturi records on a mostly friendly note, I had signed a much more fluid and flexible contract with a small company stationed in Seattle that actually wanted both Bella and me. They'd wanted us to tour at first, and we had been willing until we found out Bella was pregnant again. We had worked out a compromise and it had been working for all of us since then.

I had gotten my teaching certificate and tried my hand at teaching music in school, until I realized that private tutoring was much more suited to my tastes. Both Bella and I offered small classes out of our home studio several nights a week, which ended up being perfect.

With the label, Bella and I worked primarily as songwriters, though we still did local gigs with our own songs, we were happier working behind the scenes. Plus it provided us with way more flexibility to actually be there for our child. It was everything I had ever dreamed of and more.

…

"Mommy?" I was walking by Riley's room as Bella was tucking him into bed. "Will you love the new baby more than me?" My son's question startled me and I paused outside his door.

"Oh honey no. Why would you think that?" Bella asked pulling him in closer to her hug. She was curled up with him on his small bed, a book nestled between them.

"Max said that when he got his new brother his mommy and daddy didn't love him anymore." Riley's little voice was so vulnerable it broke my heart.

"Oh baby. Max's parents still love him just as much as they did before. Daddy and I will love you just the same when the new baby comes." She whispered.

"But are you sure?" Riley asked looking up at her. Bella gave him a small smile and brought him closer to her. He nestled in against her chest as she started to sing to him.

"Little boy, when you speak  
I can't help but kiss your cheeks  
I love the way you grab my hands  
And tell me all about your plans

Rocket high, comets fly  
You and I could take a ride  
And fly away to Neverland  
And give our best to Peter Pan

When you reach for the stars  
Don't forget who you are  
And please don't turn around and grow up way too fast  
See the sand in my grasp  
From the first to the last  
Every grain becomes a memory of the past  
Oh, life's an hourglass  
Life's an hourglass

Story's read, prayer is said  
Close your eyes sleepyhead  
While angels linger in your dreams  
And hold you in their feathered wings  
Just like you, I was small  
Not that long ago at all  
I wish you all the happiness  
That God gives freely if you ask

When you reach for the stars  
Don't forget who you are  
And please don't turn around and grow up way too fast  
See the sand in my grasp  
From the first to the last  
Every grain becomes a memory of the past  
Oh, life's an hourglass  
Life's an hourglass."

"Honey that's a song I wrote just for you." Bella whispered. I wiped a tear from my eye. My wife was amazing. "Whenever you hear that song, you'll know just how much I love you." She continued. "Mommy and Daddy's have special love that never gets smaller, it just grows and grows and you'll find that so does a brother's love. You're going to love this new baby just as much." She told him. He smiled at her and nestled against her again.

"I love you mommy." He whispered with a small yawn. Bella bent down to kiss his head.

"I love you too baby."

"Will you sing to me again mommy?" He asked. Bella glanced up at the door where I was eavesdropping and gave me a small smile, motioning me inside. I slipped in and Riley looked up at me with a smile.

"We both will." Bella promised. "Because we both love you."

**Thank you so much to every one for reading! I love all of your responses and I've truly enjoyed sharing my writing with you! I hope to start posting a new project very soon! Thank you!**

**Song: Hourglass - Mindy Gledhill**


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